THE EUROPEAN Parliament has approved plans to enforce the complete liberalisation of European gas and electricity markets by July 2007.
The proposals provide a new impetus to the concept of energy liberalisation, which has become stagnated in recent times.
Plans to bring down energy barriers across Europe have been in place for some time; the first round of liberalisation took place in 1998-2000. However a number of countries, France and Germany in particular, have been accused of dragging their feet with efforts to open domestic markets to foreign investment.
The UK has seen a flood of foreign mergers and acquisitions under liberalised conditions. Many energy companies are angered that firms such as the French state-owned group, Electricité de France, have been allowed to make aggressive acquisitions in Europe’s more liberalised energy markets while remaining protected from competition at home.
After lengthy debate the parliament has delivered a compromise that gives national regulatory authorities a greater degree of control in the development of their internal markets. It is hoped that this will speed the opening gas and electricity markets to commercial users by 2004 and the public by 2007.