Chief of staff at the Office of the Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy at the U.S. Department of State, Vincent J. O'brien, stated that "stakes for an energy secure future have never been higher than they are today." Cooperation is needed on securing new resources of natural gas, diversifying energy sources and creating a more integrated European energy market. Given that the U.S.–EU trade relationship is the largest in the world and that the economies are increasingly becoming interdependent, Europe's energy security is naturally in the best interest of the U.S. While the dynamics behind Europe's energy concerns are complex, pipeline politics seem to dominate discussions.

"Any serious effort to address the complex, inter-related problems of Eurasian energy must be informed by humility," says Ambassador Richard Morningstar in the inaugural event for the European Studies Program's new European Energy Security Initiative.

Secretary Salazar speaks about the future of U.S. energy needs and resources, and the impacts of the recent Deepwater Horizon oil spill on drilling development policy.

Governments use a number of measures to support the production and use of biofuels; in the United States biofuels subsidies totaled nearly $6 billion in 2009. Corn use for ethanol in the United States has expanded corn demand by nearly 30%, driving corn prices, along with prices of other commodities, higher. Panelists discussed whether such support should be considered as agricultural subsidies and about whether and how such support is being notified to the WTO.