Main points
The Lisbon Treaty, which came into force on 1 December 2009, includes a chapter dedicated to the European Union energy policy for the first time since 1958, when the Rome Treaty instituting the European Economic Community came into force.
The European Union energy policy is aimed at:
- ensuring the operation of the energy market
- ensuring the energy provisioning security in the European Union
- promoting energy efficiency and energy saving, as well as the development of new and renewable energies
- promoting the interconnection of energy networks
Internal energy market
Published in August 2009, the 3rd Energy Package is aimed at reinforcing the integration of the internal electricity and gas markets and at stimulating competition to benefit consumers.
The implementation of the two directives and three regulations of this package on 3 March 2011 brought several novelties:
in the Member States, the reinforcement of the independence of the transmission system operators, which is henceforth subject to a certification procedure performed by the national regulation bodies, as well as the harmonisation and reinforcement of the independence and jurisdiction of the national regulation bodies on the Community level, the establishment of an Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and the coordination obligation of the transmission system operators within the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity and Gas ( ENTSO )
Directive concerning the common regulations for the internal electricity market, abrogating Directive 2003/54/CE:
Directive 2009/72/CE of 13 July 2009
Directive concerning the common regulations for the internal natural gas market, abrogating Directive 2003/55/CE:
Directive 2009/73/CE of 13 July 2009
Regulation instituting a cooperation agency for energy regulators:
Regulation (CE) N°713/2009 of 13 July 2009
Regulation concerning the transport system access conditions for transborder electricity exchanges, abrogating Regulation (CE) n° 1228/2003:
Regulation (CE) N°714/2009 of 13 July 2009
Regulation concerning the natural gas transport system access conditions, abrogating Regulation (CE) n°1775/2005:
Regulation (CE) N°715/2009 of 13 July 2009
Provisioning security
The obligations of the Member States in terms of natural gas provisioning crisis prediction and management are set forth in Regulation (UE) n°994/2010 of 20 October 2010 concerning the measures aimed at guaranteeing gas provisioning security, abrogating Directive 2004/67/CE of the Council. The objectives in terms of provisioning security and of investment in electrical infrastructures are set forth in Directive 2005/89/CE of 18 January 2006 .
Energy-climate
In 2009, the European Union committed to achieving the objective known as the “20-20-20 targets” between now and 2020: an increase in the use of renewable energies to 20% of the Union primary energy consumption, a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to the levels of 1990 and an increase of 20% in energy efficiency between now and 2020 will bring significant consequences for the energy sector.
The implementation of these objectives will require a heightened attention and involvement of the regulation bodies in this field. CRE is already striving to integrate these problems into its daily activities.
Market integrity
The monitoring of financial markets and derived products related to electricity and natural gas are regulated by:
- the Market Abuse Directive (MAD) , which provides a Community framework for the prevention, detection and sanctioning of insider dealing and other market manipulations;
- the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) , which aims to guarantee equal competition conditions by monitoring market places established in the European Union Member States;
- the provisions of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) currently being negotiated, which should make it possible to improve the compensation mechanisms and the payment of deliveries in the European Union.
In order to reduce the regulatory gaps in the monitoring of market abuse on the energy wholesale markets, the Commission also presented a project in December 2010 for the Regulation on Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT). This initiative ensues from the work carried out jointly by the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR), on the one hand, and the European Energy Regulators, on the other hand.
CRE is heavily involved in the drafting of these recommendations and in contributing to their practical implementation.
