Brussels, 12/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - Speaking to EUROPE at a press conference held in Strasbourg on Tuesday 11 December (EUROPE 9562), José Manuel Barroso spoke of his confidence that the governments of the EU would reach a solution on the tricky issue of the effective unbundling of production/supply and transport/energy operator network activities, in the framework of discussions on the third legislative package on the liberalisation of the internal market for electricity and gas. “Last March, we obtained a highly important decision: the European Council took position in favour of the separation regime. From the very beginning, we knew that there were different options on the table, that of ownership unbundling or that of the independent system operator, a 'lighter' version of ownership unbundling. We knew that we would meet with a great deal of resistance to ownership unbundling”, said the president of the European Commission, who continued: “It is true that there is more consensus in favour of separation in the field of electricity than there is in the field of gas. We, the European Commission, are keeping our proposals on the table, and we are working with the various governments towards a solution for the end of the first half of 2008”. “What I hope for is that the governments will remain true to the decision they took at a higher level last March. They themselves acknowledged that the status quo was no longer acceptable. They agreed that the current level of concentration in the field of energy is harmful to the smooth functioning of the internal market”. Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged proposals for a third option on separation, to be presented before the end of January 2008. (E.H.)