Traditionally, most countries relied on their own deposits of conventional energy sources, for example Poland in the use of lignite and hard coal or Italy in the combustion of domestic natural gas. Germany's still high share of lignite in electricity generation is also striking.

Structures of the energy mix that cannot be justified (or can only be justified imperfectly by natural factors) are often due to energy policy frameworks. In Germany and other European countries, for example, the use of coal and above all nuclear energy became increasingly important under the slogan "away from oil and gas" after the so-called oil price crises of the 1970s. In Germany, the aim was to achieve a supply of electrical energy that was largely independent of the world market and at the same time cheap. Another example of the impact of framework requirements are Germany's decisions and strategies regarding the nuclear phase-out and the promotion of renewable energies. In the meantime, however, there are also ambitious plans by the European Union to massively restrict the use of fossil fuels for electricity generation.

France is the country that most obviously relies on the expansion of nuclear energy. The country obtains about three quarters of its electricity from nuclear power and can also export nuclear power to neighbouring countries.

Future developments on the electricity market will be largely determined by the strategies and measures with which the EU pursues its declared, only partially achieved goal of a European internal energy market and what results it achieves in the process. In addition, efforts to protect the climate are increasingly playing a decisive role. In countries like the United Kingdom, Italy or Denmark, the combustion of coal for electricity generation has already been massively reduced. In almost all European countries, the share of renewable energy sources for the generation of electricity has grown strongly in recent years.