Brussels tackles member states energy obstructionism
MARK BEUNDERMAN
04.04.2006 @ 18:40 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSSELS - The European Commission on Tuesday (4 April) launched a raft of legal measures against member states failing to liberalise their energy markets, counting on "political support" from governments after EU leaders last month agreed on a common energy policy.
Brussels has sent letters to 17 member states indicating that they have failed to properly implement the EU's gas and electricity directives aimed at opening the bloc's energy market by 1 July 2007.
Commissioner Piebalgs: "I believe that I will have political support from member states" (Photo: European Community, 2006)
But Brussels has detected shortcomings in the sector in almost all 25 member states.
National energy regulators still block access of new entrants to the markets, prices are regulated to fence off competition, and "unbundling" between network infrastructure and energy production has not sufficiently advanced.
The commission said it would take Spain and Luxembourg to the European Court of Justice for failing to send in any national implementation measures of the gas and electricity directives.
"Only the Netherlands and Denmark have a completely clean bill," said energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs.
"It needs a lot of courage to liberalise the markets," he indicated. "But I believe that I will have political support from member states, not a rejection."
Mr Piebalgs pointed to the "political statement" that EU leaders gave at their March summit, where they unanimously supported the birth of a common EU energy policy.
Recent events have shown that member states' instincts to protect energy markets are still strong however, with France and Spain attempting to block planned foreign takeovers of national energy companies.
Renewables and biofuel
As part of Tuesday's legal offensive on energy, Brussels also launched infringement procedures against Italy, Poland, the Czech republic, the UK, Latvia, Cyprus, Greece and Ireland for not implementing an EU directive promoting renewable energy.
The deadline for transposing the directive into national law was October 2003, but commissioner Piebalgs stressed that the commission would from now on be "very tough" on renewables, referring to the oil price standing at $66 a barrel.
The renewables directive aims at a share of 21 percent of electricity production from renewable sources such as wind and solar power in the EU by 2010.
Meanwhile, Denmark and Finland were urged to stick to an EU-agreed target of 2 percent biofuels in transport.
"The two countries have still not given adequate reasons for having set targets considerably lower," Brussels said in a statement.
Oil stocks
On top of this, the commission stepped up procedures against Belgium, Cyprus and Greece for failing to meet EU oil-stock legislation.
Belgium and Cyprus are not holding sufficient stock levels, while Greece is still not providing statistics on time, the commission indicated.
According to a commission statement "oil stocks are extremely important for the EU's security of supply. The recent oil market crisis in the wake of hurricane Katrina has confirmed how important it is for the member states to meet their reporting obligations."