Brussels, 30/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 29 September, no fewer than 18 member states - including France, Spain and the United Kingdom - were taken to task by the European Commission for failing to comply with the deadline of 3 March for transposition into national law of the 2009 directives on the liberalisation of the gas and electricity markets. Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger is pessimistic about whether the EU will keep to the 2014 deadline set for completion of this single market.
On Thursday, the Commission plunged into the fray against national monopolies in the gas and electricity sectors with the opening of infringement proceedings against 18 member states, who should have transposed into their national legislation by early March provisions aimed at ownership unbundling of production and supply and energy operator transmission, to be effective in 2012. Six months after that date, most states have still not complied, Commissioner Oettinger said.
Infringement proceedings concern 17 member states in the electricity sector and 18 in the gas sector. Countries most at fault are France, the United Kingdom and Spain, that have transposed neither of the two 2009 directives. Good pupils are headed by Germany and Italy, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and Poland. Denmark, which is to hold EU Council presidency early 2012, has not met its obligations in the electricity sector.
Commissioner Oettinger, who had granted the national capitals until the autumn for implementing the provisions, denounced on Thursday the delays that are undermining the common objective of an internal energy market by 2014. “I do have some doubts as to whether this goal is achievable by that deadline”, he stressed during a conference on Thursday, pointing out that the obligation of ownership unbundling is supposed to make prices fair, and ensure a free choice for consumers. (EH/transl.jl)