The shale gas revolution has taken its time to arrive in Europe.
But after years of watching the US plunge head-first into natural gas exploration and of reaping the rewards, Europe's politicians are now deciding whether to join in.
Most of the political focus has been on potential economic benefits and the environmental consequences of hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" used in unconventional oil and gas drilling.
In western Europe, France and Germany lead a group of count...
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Benjamin Fox is a seasoned reporter and editor, previously working for fellow Brussels publication Euractiv. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He heads up the AU-EU section at EUobserver, based in Nairobi, Kenya.