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< Scottish government launches green energy action plan | RWE unveils vision for independent grid in Germany >
European Union member states 'violating energy market legislation'
The European Commission has expressed concern that EU citizens are losing out on the potential benefits of competitive energy markets due to the failure of member states to comply with EU legislation.
It has launched infringement procedures against 25 of the bloc's 27 member states for failing to implement various elements of the EU's second package of internal market energy laws that were phased in between 2004 and 2007. Only Malta and Cyprus have avoided reprimand.
The Commission says that in addressing the violations, it has focussed on the provisions that guarantee fair competition in the interests of consumers. "In this time of economic and financial crisis, it is simply unacceptable that the European consumers and companies suffer the burden of an ill-functioning energy market," said Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.
"The Commission is determined to take all necessary action to ensure that European consumers can benefit from real choice, better prices, and enhanced security of supply that only an open and competitive market can provide."
Most of the violations relate to electricity and gas market regulations, with letters of formal notice being sent to Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden and the UK.
In these cases, violations include a lack of information provided by electricity and gas transmission system operators, the obstruction of effective access of supply companies to networks, the inadequacy of network capacity allocation systems and a lack of coordination and cooperation across borders by electricity transmission system operators and national authorities.
The Commission says it has also sent letters to Greece, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Lithuania warning them about their use of regulated price systems, which the Commission says puts "obstacles in the way of new market entrants".
Other violations include the absence of "simple and inexpensive" dispute settlement procedures for consumers at national level, which the Commission sees as "a fundamental premise" of the EU energy market, and the inadequate efforts by gas transmission system operators to make maximum capacity available in order to optimise opportunities for market entrance and competition.
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