Brussels, 16/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Commission has decided to take Germany before the Court of Justice as it did not fully transpose the 1998 directive on opening up the gas market to competition by the scheduled date (10 August 2000). Germany has transposed a large part of the directive into national law but several provisions still need adopting by the Bundestag and "no date has as yet been fixed for final adoption", notes the Commission. Germany is said not to have transposed provisions on the choice of network access systems, the separation of integrated companies (service provider/network management), the creation of an independent authority to resolve conflicts, the confidentiality of commercial information. According to the Commission, it is important that the current legislation be complete, "otherwise it could impede the liberalisation of the gas market, especially in Germany, as well as the completion of the single gas market and the creation conditions of fair competition in the EU". The 1998 directive provides for the opening up of 28% of the gas market to competition in 2003 and 33% in 2008. On 25 November, the Energy Council will return to the directive aimed at accelerating liberalisation by opening up the whole market to companies as early as 2005.