EU Energy Law and Regulation Workshop
Previous meetings
6th annual meeting
20-21 September 2007
Competition and Investment in EU Energy Markets. In the Light of the Third Energy Package
The European Council’s Action Plan for 2007-2009—an Energy Policy for Europe—"notes the interaction between investment decisions and the development of the regulatory framework, and is therefore of the opinion that future measures affecting the internal market have to be designed and implemented in a way that provides a positive framework for much-needed investment". In September 2007 the European Commission presented new legislative proposals on further market liberalization (the so-called ‘3rd package’). The workshop has examined the Commission’s analysis and vision underlying the new legislative proposals, and—focussing on the investment required to realise this vision—it has asked three questions:
What legal and regulatory measures are required to promote investment in cross-border infrastructure like interconnectors
What kind of investment framework is necessary to realize the vision of a low CO2 energy industry and
What specific legal, regulatory and institutional measures are essential for progress in establishing an internal market in energy?
Programme
Summary and conclusions
The 5th annual meeting
21-22 September 2006
Mergers and Acquisitions in a Liberalising Market: The EU Experience
A key issue in making the internal energy market a reality is to stimulate the emergence of a competitive market structure. As the legal architecture has been put in place, it is clearer than ever that the current structure requires a pro-active stance from regulators and competition authorities if competition is to become a reality. The battleground for this will be fought less in the establishment of more `common rules’ (although an exchange of experiences and harmonisation of practices is essential) but rather in the course of dealing with specific cases in which companies seek to change the structure for their competitive advantage.
Read the Report on Proceedings of the 5th meeting
Programme
The 4th annual meeting
22-23 September 2005
The meeting focussed on the next legislative and regulatory steps to be taken to make the single market a reality. Given the existence of a body of sector specific legislation and competition law, is further legislation necessary or should the existing law be more effectively applied? The workshop participants examined at the role of the ECJ and case law as a catalyst for change, as well as the European Commission's sector review into distortions in the electricity and gas markets.
Read the Report on Proceedings of the 4th meeting.
The opening speech was delivered by Ms Sue Harrison, from the UK Department of Trade and Industry and a representative of the UK Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Press release
The 3rd annual meeting
It took place at a time (2004) when many of the EC Member States were in the process of transposing this energy regulatory package into national law. Against this background, the target of this meeting was to discuss some of the challenges that the energy market-players and regulators will have to face in the short and medium-term in relation to the implementation of the second EU energy regulatory package.
Download the Executive Summary of the 3rd meeting
First and second annual meetings
The first two annual meetings, held in 2002 and 2003, explored issues related to the adoption of the second EU energy regulatory package?two Directives on electricity and gas and related Regulations aiming to eliminate a number of barriers to the emergence of an effective and functional internal market for energy following the liberalization of this sector.
A volume edited by Peter Cameron on Legal Aspects of EU Energy Regulation: Implementing the New Directives on Electricity and Gas Accross Europe was published by Oxford University Press in 2005, bringing together and building on papers presented at the Workshops in 2002 and 2003.
Page last updated on 18 August 2017