The EU energy commissioner, Loyola de Palacio, last month met with the newly founded Council of European Energy Regulators and renewed the call to create a single energy market, instead of 15 liberalised markets. She added that the next crucial step would be the interconnection between states. She backed proposals from the electricity sector, but made it clear that the EC was fully prepared to intervene if a consensus was not reached. She insisted liberalisation reforms should benefit not only the industry, but also the consumers.
Created on March 7, 2000, the Council of European Energy Regulators’ 10 members are the regulators from Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.
The EC also launched its climate change programme, advocating a twin-track approach to reduce emissions. To give new impetus to the community’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, the EC said it wants to see the emissions reduction target achieved in two ways.
A Green Paper foresees the of an emissions trading system within the EU for the energy sector and big industrial installations while, in parallel, the strategy will also target measures to reduce emissions from specific sources.
