In the period between 2004 and 2009, when Mr. Andris Piebalgs held the post of the EU Energy Commissioner, the three priorities of energy policy were defined as follows: competitiveness, energy security and sustainability. The main attention in this period, however, was devoted to sustainability. The new Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger which is in office since 2010 intends to improve the situation and puts competitiveness in the forefront as the key priority of the energy sector. This paper examines the European Union’s and the U.S. energy sector competitiveness over the last 10 years. A conclusion has been made that the EU lags behind the U.S. in this area due to higher energy and energy resources prices, as well as due to excessive subsidies for renewable energy producers. After making comparison of the European Union’s energy sector performance with that of other major regions of the world energy statistics and forecasts, it has been confirmed that there were some mistakes in the EU energy policy of recent years that demands restoration of the energy sector competitiveness. The European Commission faces different challenges concerning energy policy and legislation. However, the main task is to improve the competitiveness of the energy sector. The extent of accomplishing this task will determine the competitiveness of the EU economy in whole.