EU energy market: EP gives clear mandate to the Commission to break up German and French energy oligopolies
Following today's vote by the European Parliament on a report on the internal gas and electricity market, Claude Turmes, Green spokesperson on energy, said:
"MEPs have given today broad support to important instruments such as full ownership unbundling (1), mandatory gas and electricity release obligations for dominating energy companies and the strengthening of regulatory tools. The Commission has received a clear mandate from Parliament to put to an end the scandalous domination of the energy market by the oligopolies E.on-Ruhrgas, RWE and EDF.
"This is a good day for European consumers, both big and small, but also for the environmental profile of the EU internal market. Indeed it is clearly indicated by the Parliament's call for all "subsidies for non-renewable energy sources to be eliminated". Importantly it is a clear demand to the Commission to address, in its September package (2), the question of bias in favour of coal and nuclear power production.
Non-harmonised insurance regimes, decommissioning and waste costs are hidden subsidies to the nuclear sector. These subsidies and greenhouse gas pollution from coal power plants must be addressed. Otherwise, the EU internal electricity market will continue to be biased towards pro-nuclear and pro-coal, the assets of the big oligopolies."
Editor's note:
(1) More than 400 MEPs were in support of full separation of grids from the power production assets.
(2) The European Commission is to publish a package of proposals to set a series of ambitious targets on greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy, aims to create a true internal market for energy and strengthen effective regulation.
