Adam (PSE). – Madam President, after almost 25 years in this Parliament I am standing down at the elections. This may well be my last speech in the Chamber. As a former mining engineer, energy policy has been one of my prime interests, so I am happy to be making my swan-song on an energy subject.

I hope that Parliament will strongly support this proposal because it will play an important role in the completion of the internal energy market. Its purpose is to ensure fair access to networks for all market players and a genuinely competitive market for traded gas in the EU.

The third-party access guidelines in the Annex have been agreed by Member States, regulators, TSOs and system users. It is therefore appropriate that the text of the regulation agreed in committee should be as close as possible to the guidelines agreed at the Madrid Forum. Consultation with all actors in the industry is vital if the regulation is to be effective. That is why they must all be consulted on the establishment of further guidelines. National regulators will have a vital role to play in enforcing the guidelines at Member State level, as envisaged by the Gas Directive.

This proposed gas regulation deals with similar issues to the electricity regulation agreed by the Council and Parliament last year. It is appropriate that the same institutional arrangements and procedures should apply.

I very much urge the House to approve this measure.