Annual report on the implementation of the gas and electricity internal market.

Abstract

The new electricity and gas Directives1 were due to be transposed by Member States by July 2004 and the Regulation on cross border electricity exchanges2 also came into effect. The new rules are aimed at achieving to a competitive electricity and gas sector across the whole European Union as envisaged by the Lisbon Council objectives3. The Directives require the Commission to issue regular reports on the functioning of the market on an annual basis and therefore this report has been prepared in consultation with the European Regulators Group for Electricity and Gas (ERGEG) using both their data and published information from a number of sources.4 More detailed information is contained in a supporting document which will be released at the same time as this Communication.