Brussels, 27/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 26 July, the Council decided (by qualified majority) not to oppose adoption by the Commission of a regulation laying down guidelines relating to the inter-transmission system operator compensation mechanism for electricity and a common regulatory approach to transmission charging. Unless the European Parliament is opposed to it, the Commission is now able to adopt this legal act.
In a declaration, the Austrian and Hungarian delegations explained that they oppose the adoption of the Commission regulation, considering the provisions of the guidelines not compatible with the aim and content of the basic instrument (Regulation 714/ 2009). Firstly, the initial annual capping of cross border infrastructure compensation is insufficient to cover the real costs incurring and lacks proper justification. The declaration explains that “the lack of full compensation leads to higher tariffs in our countries and results in a discriminative situation for consumers in Austria and Hungary”. Secondly, the guidelines do not set a definite period for the Agency to perform the assessment of infrastructure, “determining such insufficient funds for an unforeseeable period”. Any lack of full compensation for infrastructure costs unambiguously distorts the market by adversely affecting the TSOs of transit countries and their domestic customers. (L.C./transl.fl)