EU to move against members to open energy markets

BRUSSELS, Apr 2 (Reuters) The European Commission will take legal action on Tuesday against a number of European Union countries for not properly opening their gas and electricity markets to competition as required by EU law, the Commission said today.

The action comes as the 25-nation bloc tries to agree a common energy policy to safeguard reliable supplies as import dependency from politically volatile areas such as the Middle East is projected to rise and prices are seen staying high.

The EU executive warned last November it was unhappy with governments' dragging their feet in adapting national laws to match EU legislation, which should have been done in 2004, or with EU states implementing the laws incorrectly.

''After a detailed examination of the national measures, the European Commission intends to launch a package of infringement procedures against a number of member states for incorrect transposition of the directives,'' Commission spokesman Ferran Tarradellas i Espuny said.

The EU executive says some countries keep regulated prices to the profit of eligible clients, blocking the entrance of new competitors into the market.

Others are slow to allow consumers to choose freely their electricity or gas supplier. The Commission also takes issue with the competence of regulators in the fixing of access rates to supply networks and favouritism for certain long-term contract holders in the electricity and gas sector.

The Commission also intends to take legal action against member states in other energy-related areas including EU rules on using renewable energy sources for electricity, guidelines on the use of biofuels and oil stocks.

Ferran Tarradellas i Espuny declined to say which countries the Commission would move against, saying only a large number of EU countries were as much as a year late in implementing EU laws, two of them have not done so yet, and many had taken ''a rather minimalist approach'' in implementing them.

''Although some progress has been made in creating a single European energy market, much more needs to be done if the potential benefits of a wider and open market are to be passed on to Europe's citizens,'' he said.

The Commission's competition services warned gas and electricity suppliers in February they were facing a new antitrust crackdown aimed at breaking open their industries to competition.

The EU started liberalising its energy markets over six years ago but in many countries huge former monopolies still dominate the gas and power business, keeping prices high and making it difficult for newcomers to gain a foothold.

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