Our article we scrutinise the present situation and the expected future of European shale gas production. We briefly review the shale gas extraction related regulatory attitude of the European Commission and the EU member states, then using the examples of the UK and Poland we present the instruments with which countries planning to extract non-conventional sources try to facilitate the launch of production. Our American expert, Nolan Theisen presents the contrast between Europe and the United States quite conspicuously, outlining the conditions that the countries of the region ought to create so that the production of non-conventional supplies could start in large volumes.