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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
Brussels, 15.11.2005
COM(2005) 568 final
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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Report on progress in creating the internal gas and electricity market
{SEC(2005) 1448}
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A. CONTEXT AND MAIN CONCLUSIONS
Europe is currently seeking means to re-launch its economic performance to achieve a higher
level of growth and competitiveness. A reliable electricity and gas service at acceptable prices
is the key to this and businesses and households should be able to benefit from efficient
energy supply. This is a key element of Europe’s Lisbon strategy. To achieve this objective,
the EU decided to bring the energy sector into line with the competitive parts of its economy
by gradually introducing competition. On the basis of the second Electricity and Gas
Directives1 the EU now has the unique opportunity to create the largest integrated competitive
electricity and gas market in the world. The EU cannot afford to miss the opportunity of
making this market a success. This has been recently underlined by the European Council at
the Hampton Court Summit.
It is now one year since the new directives should have been implemented by Member States
and there are one and a half years to go before markets will be fully open to competition. This
report takes stock of the current situation and identifies areas requiring further improvements.
The main conclusion of this report is that, whilst the initial opening period of energy markets
has largely been a success to date, with, for example, electricity prices now being lower in
real terms than in 1997 notwithstanding recent price rises for oil, gas and coal, more needs to
be done to ensure that industry and citizens receive the full benefits flowing from market
opening. This assessment is shared by energy regulators and most interested parties consulted
during preparation of this report.
The most important persisting shortcoming is the lack of integ