President. – The next item is the report by Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, on behalf of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on energy market integrity and transparency (COM(2010)0726 – C7-0407/2010 – 2010/0363(COD)) (A7-0273/2011).

  Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, rapporteur. – (DE) Mr President, Mr Korolec, Commissioner, energy is the lifeblood of our national economies. We therefore want price developments to remain transparent for consumers. I regret to say that there are still too many deals and agreements being made behind the scenes. In the end, it is consumers who foot the bill, in the form of severely inflated energy prices. This is not just annoying; it also has real effects on growth and employment.

We want a better internal energy market. Europe needs transparent energy markets that are protected from abuse. This is precisely what the regulation on energy market integrity and transparency aims to achieve, and that is what we are talking about here. I would specifically like to thank the Commission and Commissioner Oettinger for their positive cooperation. This is exactly how European legislation needs to be made – in the way that we have brought it about here.

I am particularly pleased that the European dimension of energy trading is stressed in the text that will be put to the vote tomorrow. One of the main issues was whether or not we need a special law on this. Do we need a sector-specific approach or could energy trading simply be subject to the general regulations for financial markets? When it comes down to it, however, energy markets have different rules; energy traders are not banks. I am particularly grateful to Commissioner Oettinger for having done all he could to ensure this matter was put to the House quickly. That was essential for a sector-specific approach.

The negotiations with the Hungarian Presidency were tough and we succeeded in getting a result at first reading. Parliament – my fellow Members – introduced seven new points into the Commission’s text. The first important point was the introduction of an approval system for a register of electricity traders. This regulation now sets out the requirement of a national register of electricity traders. It also provides for the establishment of a European register which is to be organised by the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER). The Commission is to evaluate the registration system in the future and propose further instruments to improve it.

Secondly: there is a link-up with CO2 emissions trading. The regulation gives the ACER access to existing databases relating to trading in emissions certificates. Although Member States are not required to keep such records and the ACER is not being given the rights of control, the Commission is asked to present a legislative proposal to deal with the deficits in the CO2 market system.

Thirdly: there will be penalties, and we have worked to harmonise these penalties and to achieve minimum standards. Following pressure from Parliament, the damage caused to consumers is to be given particular consideration when deciding on sanctions. In addition, the Commission has been given the opportunity to table a proposal on minimum standards for penalties.

Fourthly: the role of the agency and the national regulatory authorities have been strengthened. Parliament wanted to strengthen the ACER, which is why we have pushed for the director of the ACER to be more independent. The director of the ACER is to consult national provisions, but should not be bound by these.

A fifth important point: there is a revision clause in respect of staffing and resources. Parliament would like the ACER to be provided with the appropriate financial and human resources to be able to perform its new tasks. This is emphasised in a new recital. The ACER needs to be better equipped if it is to be guaranteed a strong presence in important organised market places.

Sixthly: naturally, insider trading is banned, but we have agreed one exemption when it comes to insider trading. This exemption may be applied only in the event of a direct physical loss resulting from unplanned outages. This exemption is allowed in order to provide security in the system, since otherwise players in the market would be unable to discharge their contractual obligations or to act by agreement with the competent transmission system operator.

Mr President, I should like to continue speaking now rather than saving two minutes until the end.

The seventh and final point concerns delegated acts versus implementing acts. This was a tough one in the negotiations – it was a central issue, and, in part, we were breaking new ground as a result of the Treaty of Lisbon. Parliament has conceded some of its demands concerning delegated acts in favour of a stronger role for the ACER and in favour of more detailed directions in the section on penalties. This was a trade-off that we made. One important element of the final package is that all the aspects relating to data collection will be laid down by an implementing act rather than a delegated act. This also applies to the setting of a de minimis threshold for the definition of reporting obligations. Nonetheless, the Commission will reserve the right to make a proposal ahead of any legislative proposal on such a threshold. This is also enshrined in the text as part of a declaration.

Overall, we have achieved a good result. I am very satisfied. The Hungarian Presidency was a tough negotiating partner, but with the assistance of my colleagues from all the other groups, we succeeded in achieving a genuinely satisfactory result. I would like to express my warmest thanks to everyone, especially to my Hungarian colleague, Mr Gyürk, because he naturally had a particularly direct line to the Presidency; however, everyone was involved in the trialogue negotiations. We achieved near unanimity in committee. I would be pleased if we could do the same in plenary. Thank you for your cooperation.

  Marcin Korolec, President-in-Office of the Council. – (PL) Mr President, honourable Members, I have the privilege, today, of speaking on behalf of the Polish Presidency in the debate on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on energy market integrity and transparency. Work on this regulation has proceeded at extraordinary speed – the Commission’s proposal was submitted only in December of last year. I would like, here, to thank the Hungarian Presidency, because it is thanks to their efforts that today we have the opportunity to discuss the negotiated text of the regulation. I would also like to offer my sincere thanks to the representatives of the European Parliament and, in particular, to Mr Chatzimarkakis and the members of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, for their valuable contribution to the work on this regulation. I would like, in addition, to highlight the particularly important contribution made to the work done on the regulation by the Chair of the Committee, Mr Reul.

The Polish Presidency attaches particular importance to the internal market. It is the basis of European integration and a key factor for economic growth. A priority of the Presidency is to endeavour to strengthen the internal market and complete its construction, so that full use can be made of its potential for growth. The internal market should become a key factor in the way the European economy recovers its competitiveness and overcomes the effects of the crisis.

The establishment of a fully functioning European internal market for electricity and gas has, in recent years, been the subject of the particular concern of the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament alike, and the energy market has been increasingly liberalised and integrated. To ensure that the internal energy market functions correctly, and to make full use of its potential, it is necessary to ensure the market’s transparency across the European Union. The citizens, businesses and the authorities have to be sure that it is working correctly.

The current system of EU law is not sufficient to prevent abuses connected with trade in the energy market. Europe needs a strong energy market which is integrated, transparent and able to react quickly to all forms of manipulation and even to attempts at manipulation. The fact that a well-developed and financially sound wholesale gas and electricity market is in operation gives businesses the certainty that they will be able to react with flexibility to changes in market conditions. To this end, close cooperation is planned between ACER – the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators – and national regulatory and other competent authorities.

To this end, too, uniform provisions have been created concerning the scope of data and information to be collected and the means for doing so, and similarly concerning the way the wholesale gas and electricity markets are to be monitored. I should like to make clear, here, that REMIT, the Regulation on European Energy Market Integrity and Transparency, gives a particular implementing role to ACER. Particular responsibility will rest with the agency’s director, Alberto Pototschnig, who is present today and is following our debate, and its Administrative Board, which is chaired by Piotr Woźniak, who has also honoured us with his presence.

The regulation gives a clear definition of the concept of abuses, and imposes a prohibition on abuses in the wholesale market for electricity and derivative products and in the wholesale market for natural gas and derivative products. These provisions include a clear prohibition on insider trading and market manipulation. The provisions have been formulated in such a way as to ensure they are consistent with MAD, the Market Abuse Directive, and MiFID, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. The regulation is an important step towards achievement of our objective in terms of building an EU internal energy market by 2014.

We all agree that the energy market has to be competitive and dynamic. However, for this sector to develop properly, it has to be based on and regulated by transparent principles. The regulation we are discussing today is one of several factors which give this market a new form.

Mr President, Commissioner, honourable Members, I would like to express my particular gratitude for the intensive efforts made by all the institutions during the negotiations, which led to a successful outcome in the form of a political consensus on 23 June. We have worked very hard and fast and, as a result, have achieved agreement at first reading and in barely a few months. I should like, therefore, to urge the House to endorse this act, which is an expression of compromise between the Commission, the Council and Parliament, and which will contribute to an increase in the integrity and transparency of the energy market.

  Günther Oettinger, Member of the Commission. – (DE) Mr President, Mr Korolec, honourable Members, the internal market in electricity is now 15 years old and European legislation on gas has been in place for 12 years. Since then, we have been in the implementation phase. The internal market means transparency for consumers, competition between the providers of products and services and the application of market economy rules. For this reason, I believe that introducing regulations to prevent possible market abuse is a significant and logical step forward, as part of the process of creating the internal market, which we will be working to establish within the next four years using all the technical, economic and competition law-related measures at our disposal.

Deregulation and the internal market in electricity and gas have brought about changes in the landscape of the energy exchanges and marketplaces. Clear regulations and restrictions are needed, in particular, to ensure that the marketplaces and energy exchanges function effectively. Without these regulations, it would be difficult to ensure a safe, sustainable and fair supply of energy at a reasonable cost.

The wholesale prices that are under discussion today and the wholesale markets are also relevant to consumers, at least indirectly, and have an influence on the size of their future energy bills. Therefore, it is in everyone’s interest that the marketplaces function properly. First and foremost, it is in the interest of consumers, European citizens and also the market participants, in other words, the product and service providers.

This is precisely the intention of the regulation we are debating today: to generate confidence in the market processes. As the rapporteur has already mentioned, this regulation is a lex specialis. We have spent a long time evaluating whether the general market rules can be applied on a one-to-one basis and have come to the conclusion that the specific nature of the energy markets requires special rules, special procedures and separate authorities, in order to prevent market abuse and attempts to manipulate the market and in order to uncover activities of this kind and impose sanctions on the perpetrators.

We have a clearly worded code of conduct which, together with the European marketing monitoring body that forms part of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and the well-defined responsibilities of the authorities, represents a supervisory framework for the traded energy markets that we believe sets international standards.

I would like to thank everyone involved for the intensity and speed of the debate, including Parliament and you, Mr Chatzimarkakis, because you have put a great deal of effort into this. The fact that it was possible to complete the debates within six months is due to the goodwill, competence and integrity of all the honourable Members and also to the efforts of the Hungarian Presidency during this period. I am very grateful for this. The suggestions for improvements that we have received also indicate that constructive discussions have taken place.

We believe that this proposal is in the interest of fair emissions trading and that the division of responsibilities between the European level and the regulators in the Member States represents a practical solution. We have not transferred all the tasks to the European level, but it is also the case that in a European internal market, the responsibility cannot lie entirely with the national regulators.

After you have adopted this regulation tomorrow, we will begin putting it into effect immediately. This involves the necessary implementing acts which will enable the data collection process required for market monitoring purposes to be established quickly. We are relying on the ACER and on effective cooperation between this European body and the regulators in the Member States.

It is important to me that this proposal for a regulation functions as a tailor-made supplement to the general financial regulations. The provisions of the European Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) and the Market Abuse Directive (MAD) also apply, in principle, to the energy market participants. Both directives are currently being revised and will be adapted to meet the new requirements of the financial markets. Therefore, I recommend that you focus your attention on developing these general rules, which are also important for the energy market and the wholesale markets, and apply your knowledge from the fields of energy and industry.

We will ensure that only those changes which are absolutely necessary will be made to the energy market. In this respect, it is important to me that those market participants which are trading in energy not primarily for the sake of trading, but because their core business requires them to do so, are not burdened with excessive regulation. Some of the rules which apply to the financial markets are not relevant to the energy market and can often involve regulations that are too far-reaching.

Thank you for your very constructive work here in Parliament.

  Robert Goebbels, rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. – (FR) Mr President, 60 seconds is not very long to defend consumer interests in the face of energy market abuses.

The text on which we are going to vote tomorrow is a compromise between the two legislative arms, and, as usual, the Council has been less ambitious than the European Parliament. It is often said that lobbyists have too much influence over the European Parliament, but I find that national lobbies seem to concentrate on the ministries instead.

I personally called for greater vigilance in the face of attempted market abuses and insider trading. I am none too pleased that the text on which we are going to vote agrees with, I quote, ‘accepted market practices on the wholesale energy market’. Certain dubious practices should be eliminated.

I would have also genuinely preferred tougher penalties, particularly at European level, and not just ‘effective, proportionate and dissuasive’ ones. Time will tell whether the penalties, which will remain national, are sufficient.

I shall conclude, Mr President, by stressing that the text should not read that the agency ‘should be provided with the appropriate financial and human resources’, but that it ‘will have to be provided’ with those same financial and human resources.

(The speaker referred to the text of the English version of the procedure file)

  Rafał Trzaskowski, rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection. – Mr President, I would like to warmly welcome my friend, Minister Korolec, who, for the first time, is representing the Polish Presidency in this House.

The goal of this regulation is twofold: to increase transparency and prevent market abuse. We in the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection were obviously concerned with the impact on consumers. As Commissioner Oettinger said, it has an impact on energy prices, which is of utmost importance to consumers. It is also important because it has an impact on energy security. It would prevent the formation of monopolies abusing their dominant position.

I am especially glad that our idea to take into account damages caused to consumers when determining penalties for breaking the rules was included in the final compromise. I thank the rapporteur for that. Most importantly, this regulation brings us closer to achieving this House’s great ambition of creating the single market in energy.

  András Gyürk, on behalf of the PPE Group. – (HU) Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it is our common goal to create a single European energy market by 2014. We want a single European energy market because we believe that it is in the interest of European consumers; after all, this is our only way to keep energy prices in check, increase supply security and prevent commercial abuse. However, there is still much work to be done until this single market can be created. We are lagging behind not only in putting missing cables and infrastructure connections in place, but also on the regulatory side. We are lagging behind in implementation, but so are we in making new legislation. The REMIT report fills such a regulatory gap in the field of wholesale energy trade.

This law will allow for the monitoring of cross-border wholesale trade in gas and electricity in the future. Today, the majority of energy products are exchanged in an international market. That is why the current practice of Member State-level monitoring is inadequate to effectively eliminate abuse. Thanks to this law, the European Energy Agency will now also have detailed information about previously non-public wholesale transactions. Thanks to this law, only registered wholesalers will be allowed to trade energy even in countries that do not yet operate a licensing scheme. Finally, thanks to this law, the parties responsible for abuse will be clearly identifiable when penalties are imposed.

Ladies and gentlemen, these are important achievements, and I should like to take this opportunity to thank the rapporteur for making them possible. As the chief spokesperson on this issue within the Group of the European People’s Party, I also wish to thank him for his cooperation. Allow me to express my congratulations that, with the help of the Hungarian Presidency, the – I am convinced – best possible compromise for both the Member States and Parliament could be reached within such a short time, in agreement with the Commission.

  Hannes Swoboda, on behalf of the S&D Group. – (DE) Mr President, first of all, I would like to thank Mr Chatzimarkakis very much for his hard work and for the ongoing, effective cooperation on this subject which has enabled us to achieve good results, in consultation, of course, with the Council and the Commissioner.

As has already been mentioned, this is all about consumer protection. Is it absolutely necessary to adopt a regulation of this kind and to protect consumers against market abuse and insider trading? I believe that it is. Recent cases in the USA in particular have shown that market participants are very likely to make repeated attempts to exploit their market power and to take part in insider trading, because this is something that almost goes with the territory. Therefore, it is absolutely vital that we take measures to prevent this.

As Mr Gyürk has already said, we are now part of a European network. The energy industry is, thank goodness, no longer a purely national or regional issue. Instead, it is a European network and, therefore, we need European regulations. This does not mean that the national authorities and, in particular, the national regulatory bodies, no longer have a job to do. The work must, of course, be carried out primarily by the national authorities, which have an overview of the markets and the market participants. However, they must cooperate closely with the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER). It is very important that we maintain an overview of the situation in Europe and take these connections and networks into consideration.

The register is also important. Many of us wanted more than just a register with an approval procedure, but perhaps this would have involved too much red tape. We must wait and see. We now have a register which has, and will continue to obtain, the relevant information to allow the regulatory bodies to act appropriately.

The penalties and sanctions have already been referred to, in particular, by Mr Gyürk. It makes no sense to take action against market powers and market abuse if, at the same time, there is no possibility of imposing penalties. It would also not be a sensible approach for some countries to have stiff penalties and others more lenient ones, because the companies would move to the countries where the penalties were less stringent. For this reason, we need to harmonise the situation over the course of time.

My final point concerns the delegated acts. Mr Oettinger has given us his opinion on this. I hope, Mr Oettinger, that you take the right approach to the delegated acts and I would like to take this opportunity to mention the fact that we felt that this approach was slightly lacking in your references to hoisting flags and flying them at half mast. If every country which does not complete a specific task only flies its flags at half mast, we must ask all the countries to fly their flags at half mast. We need to be a little more modest with regard to this question. Otherwise, Mr Oettinger, I and my group value your commitment to energy issues very highly, when you focus your attention on them.

  Lena Ek, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – (SV) Mr President, an effective price mechanism will determine whether we can have an effective energy market. An effective energy market is a cornerstone of smart climate policy. The ownership structure is an important contributory factor when it comes to prices, but an explanation can also be found in the lack of transparency. As a result of the lack of competition, electricity companies’ income from electricity network charges has increased sharply.

As usual, there are politicians proposing various different types of planned economy experiments to solve these problems. There is one thing that I would like to make very clear, however. Re-regulation or monopolisation of energy production and distribution will never provide the solution. Instead, the future is a more transparent market where the combined power of all of Europe’s consumers is able to set the agenda.

However, the energy production that future consumers will encounter will look rather different. Therefore, the network needs to be rebuilt in order to cope with feed-in electricity generation schemes. In order to avoid electricity price shocks, there also needs to be an increase in the proportion of smart electricity meters. Consumers can then see the price and how much electricity is being consumed. It will be possible to choose both green electricity and the cheapest time of the day to switch the washing machine on. That will also give us a more uniform demand curve and a more consistent price level.

In order to achieve all of this, we need investment. From the point of view of long-term competition, Europe’s level of investment, totalling 19% – which is only a third of the equivalent investment by China – needs to be increased. In order to contribute to this increase, we must improve cooperation between the private and public sectors.

With the aid of the legislation that we will vote through tomorrow, among other things, our policy can help by providing an incentive structure that will make investment in smart energy infrastructure more worthwhile. I would therefore like to congratulate the rapporteur, Mr Chatzimarkakis, who has once again done a fantastic job on a difficult report. It will increase transparency in the energy market. General and long-term ground rules that help to provide a better and effective market are necessary in order for us to both achieve economic growth and meet our climate targets. Enormous sums need to be invested, but if there is something that is worth investing in, it is the future.

  Claude Turmes, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, when the Commission and Parliament join forces and when we have a Presidency which makes things move, then Europe will go in the right direction. The regulation on energy market integrity and transparency (REMIT) is a step forward to prevent the scandal of insider trading and manipulation. I think this is good for consumers, citizens and companies in Europe.

However, there are two or three things which I think we now have to get right. The first, which Robert Goebbels mentioned, is sanctions. It is really important that the Commission keeps a very close eye on how sanctions are transposed nationally, because we do not want regulatory dumping to attract certain traders to certain places. This must be prevented.

Secondly, we have put the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) into the driving seat. We need a European referee for the European market, but it is clear that the 15 additional people at ACER envisaged in the original Commission document will not be able to do any more than just automatic screening. What we need at ACER is a preliminary analysis, because otherwise they will flood the national regulatory agencies with potential cases every day. This is not an intelligent way to proceed, nor a good use of time, for ACER or for the national regulators. So my question to you is how can we make sure that ACER gets enough staff? ACER also needs a very highly sophisticated and secure ICT system. It is not secure today and we need to secure it.

There are three issues for which we Greens have fought hard. One is regional cooperation between the national regulatory agencies. That is now in the text. It is clear that the markets are regional and so we need more regional cooperation between regulatory authorities. The second concerns minimum requirements for trading floors. In future, we want all trading to take place on trading floors and for there to be less over-the-counter trade done in dark rooms. For this we need minimum requirements. Lastly, we have established ACER as a trade repository, which means that academics, not only in Europe but worldwide, can now follow what is going on in European electricity and gas trading. We have also established a link to CO2 trading, which means that there will be an increasing level of external expertise to help us see where the weaknesses in the system are.

I would like to thank our negotiation team. I think this is an honest result of our efforts.

  Konrad Szymański, on behalf of the ECR Group. – (PL) Mr President, Mr Korolec, Commissioner, I think the best thing the European Union can do for energy in Europe is to create true competition in the internal market. This competition will work to reduce prices both for individual and industrial consumers. This, in turn, will translate into profitability and competitiveness for our economy. True liberalisation can also improve energy security where it is threatened by suppliers whose position is too dominating and may perhaps be positively monopolistic. We are faced with such a situation in Central Europe, which is still too heavily dependent on the Russian firm Gazprom. For the market and competition to interact and to enable them to operate freely, it is necessary to build confidence and ensure guarantees of fair practices. In relation to the development of the wholesale electricity and gas market, and this includes the cross-border market in these products, it is necessary to have better coordination of national monitoring and inspection activities, and this will be possible with the entry into force of the Regulation on European Energy Market Integrity and Transparency.

Parliament has amended the European Commission’s proposal. We have brought in clear – or at least clearer – distinctions between the competences of national regulators and those of Brussels. We have agreed more specific principles concerning the adoption of delegated acts. We have introduced better guarantees for the confidentiality of the data which the parties will provide to the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators. Finally, we propose extending inspection activity to include derivative contracts from the CO2 emissions market, which, in the next few years, is certain to undergo extremely dynamic development. All of these things are reasons why, in the course of the next few years, it is certain that we will not be able to avoid talking about giving better financial support to the agency. They are also the reasons why the European Conservatives and Reformists Group will endorse the report proposed by ...

(The President cut off the speaker)

  Vladimír Remek, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group. – (CS) Mr President, when I was elected to the European Parliament more than seven years ago, I thought that I knew something about energy and the overall issue surrounding energy, that I knew my way around it, and that, in principle, I also understood it. After my first period in Brussels, I realised that I knew almost nothing. Now in my second period of work in Parliament, I increasingly feel that I have perhaps ceased to understand it. Why is that? The reason is that I am always hearing the pervasive mantra that liberalisation should bring cheaper energy for consumers. I must say, however, that this has never happened in seven whole years. If it has, show me the evidence. Meanwhile, under the key slogan of more stable, more reliable and cheaper energy supplies, we are adopting more and more regulations. In the end, the overall globalisation and liberalisation of the market does not ensure more reliable and cheaper energy. In the final analysis, it is always the consumer who shoulders the main costs, unlike the big players on the market, who definitely cannot complain about their profits.

The document submitted is relatively specialised and complex and I cannot rid myself of the feeling that it is, above all, the big players on the European energy market and therefore also the large Member States that best know their way around it and that have influenced it. It is nonetheless also true that the report brings elements of greater transparency, as already mentioned here. This is also thanks to the work of the rapporteur, which I would like to applaud heartily, as it has been an extremely demanding task. It is also true that the energy markets are of a cross-border nature, and clear rules are therefore essential.

In the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, we contributed a number of amendments strengthening the focus on the prevention of abuse and manipulation on the wholesale energy market. Despite all that, however, much remains to be done in this area, perhaps not least because there is still no linked-up pan-European energy market, and we are unable – or scarcely able – to respond flexibly and effectively to a crisis.

  Rolandas Paksas, on behalf on the EFD Group. – (LT) Mr President, it really is very good that the European Union institutions have returned to one of the most important issues facing consumers recently. I am, of course, talking about the cost of electricity and gas.

At a time of economic crisis, the cost of electricity is becoming an important instrument helping all consumers survive and overcome further economic difficulties. Higher and recently more speculative prices for energy raw materials are driving both the business community and household customers to despair.

It is for precisely these reasons and to force energy suppliers into a framework where they would be unable to abuse their dominant position that I support the provisions contained in the regulation to the effect that penalties for infringements should not only take into account the gravity of the infringements and the profits made, but also the damage caused to consumers.

I believe that this should also cover various possible disruptions to energy supply which might arise because of political disagreements between individual countries. Some European countries have experienced this, including Lithuania. The regulation must therefore contain safeguards to prevent such incidents from being repeated.

  Franz Obermayr (NI). – (DE) Mr President, we are now beginning to realise, 10 years after the deregulation of the energy market, that it will not function entirely without rules. According to the Commission, deregulation should have led to reductions in prices, but, in fact, the opposite was the case. Insider trading and withholding capacity have resulted in some market participants playing a dominant role. The consequence of this has been fluctuating prices, with private households, as always, being the ones that suffer.

Therefore, it makes sense for the wholesale traders to disclose the information relating to their pricing policies. However, creating yet another new agency with additional costs and administrative expense in order to achieve this is a highly questionable approach. The Commission could deal with this issue itself within the Directorate-General for Competition.

In addition, we need a minimum level of consistent sanctions, otherwise the companies will simply move their headquarters to the countries which have the least stringent sanctions. Therefore, in this case, consumers and the EU will also have to continue bearing the consequences.

  Krišjānis Kariņš (PPE). – (LV) Mr President, one of our main objectives in the energy market is to preserve stable prices for our consumers. We know that it is a criminal act to use internal information of a company on the general stock market to manipulate prices and make a profit at others’ expense. That is a criminal act. With the introduction of this regulation, we shall create a prohibition in the energy market similar to that on the stock market, since big energy producers will no longer be able to exploit internal information to manipulate consumer prices to the detriment of consumers. In the energy market, the winners from this regulation will precisely be our consumers, because by outlawing price manipulation, we shall achieve stable prices, which is one of our objectives. That is why I am appealing to you to support the introduction of this regulation in the energy market. Thank you for your attention.

  Teresa Riera Madurell (S&D). – (ES) Mr President, Commissioner, as we have been saying over and over, a truly competitive internal energy market demands better grid interconnections, greater harmonisation of the guidelines and codes of practice for the network, and the completion of the process linking up all the energy markets.

Therefore, the adoption of the regulation on energy market integrity and transparency is a particularly significant landmark. We need to ensure that gas and electricity prices appropriately represent how supply and demand interact, avoiding, as has already been mentioned, asymmetric practices for information access, market manipulation and abuse, and distortions that impede the existence of true competition.

Given that these markets have their own technical peculiarities, it is now necessary for the European Commission, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and the national energy regulatory bodies to progress with the creation of a common framework that is applicable to all operators within the spot energy markets.

This common framework should provide the operators who currently participate in the different regional and national markets with harmonised access to them, thereby promoting European trade in electricity and gas, and a convergence towards a unique and competitive energy price in Europe.

  Romana Jordan Cizelj (PPE). – (SL) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the measures from the REMIT regulation will be implemented at national level by the national authorities, but at European level primarily by ACER. To this end, the agency must have, or rather ensure, adequate human resources and appropriate complex electronic equipment. However, the necessary prerequisite for both of these is sufficient financial support and I fully agree with the views expressed earlier by Mr Turmes. Commissioner Oettinger has spoken about this as well. I am concerned that the European Commission’s assessment of what resources are necessary to implement the REMIT regulation are quite different from those of ACER itself.

For example, the European Commission has estimated that we will need 15 additional employees, whereas ACER estimated 56. The estimates of the financial resources needed for equipment also differ by more than double. Obviously, I am interested in why there is such a great discrepancy, what the actual financial cost will be, and what will happen in the event of limited funding.

I have to emphasise that I am in favour of ACER being given sufficient means to carry out its operations properly. However, I do not support the establishment of additional discrete units and the expense this entails. Considering that an agency office has already been established in Brussels, I am also interested in the legal basis for this decision. Allow me, finally, to reiterate the following: I am concerned that there will not be enough money for the operations which we all agree should be carried out under the REMIT regulation. We cannot allow this situation to occur. The regulation must be implemented and that means in its entirety.

  Marita Ulvskog (S&D). – (SV) Mr President, Commissioner, here in the European Parliament, we often debate issues relating to energy poverty. We talk about energy supply and the switching of energy sources. However, as long as manipulation and a lack of transparency are the order of the day, it will be very difficult to make any progress. In that sense, a weakly regulated energy market will function just as badly as a weakly regulated financial market. We have seen what can happen.

The Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) will now have a stronger position. Clearly, we must also fight for more resources in order to be able to use this position. We will have a register and we will have sanctions, which is good for electricity consumers. However, I would have liked to have seen much more in the way of regulations. I do not have a blind faith in the free, wholly unregulated market, which is very clear when it comes to energy issues in particular. I am nevertheless very grateful for the work that has been done by the rapporteur and everyone else. This is the first step in the right direction.

  Maria Da Graça Carvalho (PPE). – (PT) Mr President, Mr Korolec, Commissioner, transparency is a requirement for the increased integration of the EU energy market. This integration brings clear benefits for consumers. The regulation adopted today is a step forward towards the completion of the internal energy market by 2014.

The regulation establishes a database of transactions in the wholesale energy market and a European register of market participants, so as to prevent unfair practices. Unfair practices in the wholesale energy market affect price levels and harm consumers. Lack of transparency can lead to increased prices for end consumers and can undermine the confidence of potential investors in infrastructure projects. This regulation is, therefore, crucial for the smooth functioning of the internal market, and the confidence of consumers and investors in the internal energy market.

  Edit Herczog (S&D). – (HU) Mr President, Commissioner, allow me to congratulate the rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs. This report is proof that more Europe means a better Europe to European citizens. Our task is clear: we must facilitate optimal energy use and rational infrastructure development, and protect consumers. We support EU-level regulation of the wholesale trade in gas and electricity; we support and ask for the continuing independence of such regulation and for the provision of resources. Finally, we definitely ask that since the price of any distortion is paid by consumers, that is, ultimately by European citizens, this should especially be incorporated in penalties and taken into account. It is on this basis that European consumers will decide about us, about whether more Europe is indeed better for them. I wish for it to be so.

  Othmar Karas (PPE). – (DE) Mr President, Mr Oettinger, ladies and gentlemen, what we need to do, and this is more important than ever, is to ensure that the energy markets are made more transparent and are monitored more effectively and that any attempt to manipulate or abuse the markets is uncovered and punished. We need an internal energy market and we must overcome the existing boundaries. Only clear rules on transparency and uniform sanctions throughout the whole of Europe will enable us to overcome the current boundaries and prevent abuse.

Our aim with this regulation is to create an instrument to stop market abuse in the energy sector. It proposes a common European approach to the ban on insider trading and market manipulation in the wholesale energy markets for all electricity and natural gas products not covered by the Market Abuse Directive. It is fortunate that we are not providing for the costs of data collection in this report, that the boundary costs will not be transferred, and that the harmonisation of penalties across the Member States has been included at the instigation of the European Parliament, in order to prevent forum shopping.

As far as the scope of the regulation is concerned, it is clear that wholesale energy markets should include not only the organised energy exchanges but also the unregulated markets, because their transactions could have an influence on trading on the energy exchanges. This approach will reinforce the integrity of the market and strengthen consumer confidence.

  Ioan Enciu (S&D). – (RO) Mr President, the integrity and transparency of the energy market are key tools for completing the internal energy market by 2014. We need to bear in mind that the incidence of abuses on the energy market in one particular Member State can have repercussions across the whole European Union.

I wish to reiterate that energy liberalisation must primarily benefit consumers, boost investments and not create tycoons over night, as has happened in some Member States, like Romania. We must not forget that the basic purpose of the European energy market is to offer consumers lower prices by stimulating competition.

The European regulatory agency must play an important role in preventing market abuses and manipulation, which cause price rises for consumers, and help inform European citizens about the rights they have in a competitive market. I should stress that national regulatory authorities must accept communication and cooperation with the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).

  Lena Kolarska-Bobińska (PPE). – Mr President, this report is a victory for those who want to strengthen the internal market and transparency standards in the energy field. In that sense, it is a further step towards the Europeanisation of energy policy, and I welcome that very much.

I am pleased that long-term contracts are included in the information that has to be reported. Some said during the discussions that this is against market rules, that we should not disclose information, contracts, etc. I think that to exclude often secretive contracts would continue to distort the market. Now, as these backroom deals will be more open, energy prices will truly reflect the reality of supply and demand.

We must now take this transparency one step further. We should move towards more transparency in international gas agreements. They are often contradictory to the law and values of the European Union, so I very much welcome the Commission proposal for a decision on information for international agreements. The Commission should also work towards greater transparency of the ownership of energy firms. Today, it is all but impossible to know who owns what. Companies that are in competition, in theory, could, in fact, be owned by the same individual. We should know more – of course, it is impossible to control everything and to know everything – but we should know more about who is actually controlling market activities.

  Mairead McGuinness (PPE). – Mr President, I would like to apologise for not being in the Chamber for the full debate, but we also have running side-by-side a debate with people with disabilities – the ‘Freedom Drive’ – and it is very difficult to do both.

I wish very briefly, within the time available to me, to draw attention to Article 13. Commissioner, I think you may be aware that Ireland is concerned about the wording of Article 13, which we believe goes beyond the standard ‘effective, dissuasive and proportionate’ wording. We have advised that we will insert a declaration in the text indicating that we will place particular emphasis on Recital 23, which refers to the application of the penalties ‘in accordance with national law’, as there could be a constitutional issue in relation to the separation of powers. We are not convinced that the wording of Article 13 would not impact on this issue. On the wider content of this debate, however, we fully concur. We have an energy market; we need to ensure that consumers are protected. We are moving in the right direction with this.

  Marisa Matias (GUE/NGL). – (PT) Mr President, Commissioner, I should also like to mention the crucial importance of this report on the transparency of the European energy market. I should just like to say that this can be an area central to European cooperation if we safeguard some of the fundamental dimensions such as preventing liberalisation from turning into increased energy prices for the public, ensuring equality of access and ensuring the careful application of penalties, as has already been mentioned by many fellow Members.

It is precisely because this is an area central to European cooperation, Mr President, Commissioner, that I cannot fail to mention it or to raise the questions I have with you face to face, Commissioner. I should like to give you the opportunity to explain yourself regarding the declarations you recently made with respect to Greece, Ireland and Portugal, because these are also areas of European cooperation. Symbolic measures like flying flags at half mast, Commissioner, only reinforce the shame felt by citizens who are praiseworthy and who are fighting for a Europe …

(The President cut off the speaker)

  Andreas Mölzer (NI). – (DE) Mr President, of course we should welcome the fact that the new EU regulations allow us to take action against unfair tactics, such as withholding energy capacity. However, the extent to which we can prevent insider trading remains to be seen. It is doubtful whether a separate agency is needed to ensure better cooperation between the energy regulators in the Member States. There has been a significant proliferation of agencies within the EU in recent years and we should not be adding to it.

As far as transparency is concerned, there are a number of factors to be taken into consideration. On the one hand, reductions in the wholesale prices are often not passed on to consumers by the electricity and gas suppliers or only very slowly. On the other hand, consumers cannot benefit from the deregulation of the energy markets while incomprehensible energy bills make it so difficult to change supplier. In addition, there is no genuine comparability when the comparison websites list only those suppliers which have reached an agreement on paying commission. In addition, changing energy supplier on the Internet can really …

(The President cut off the speaker)

  Miroslav Mikolášik (PPE). – (SK) Mr President, the linking up of wholesale energy markets in the Union is now becoming an everyday reality, which includes abuse of the market in one Member State having negative consequences on both wholesale and retail electricity and gas prices in other Member States. Ensuring market integrity requires the creation of an adequate legislative framework adapted to the specific conditions of the energy sector. A sectoral approach should effectively prevent market abuse that often occurs to the detriment of the consumer, whilst also encouraging open and fair competition on wholesale energy markets. The energy situation in the EU shows that the Union needs to increase the transparency of energy markets if it wishes to see deeper and further market integration in the EU, to support investment in energy infrastructure and to optimise …

(The speaker was interrupted)

  Ivailo Kalfin (S&D). – (BG) Mr President, as we are talking about transparent markets and consumer rights protection, I want to start by welcoming such a report. This marks a step in the right direction. However, we must do everything possible to ensure that this market links up regulated markets and power exchanges which will operate everywhere in Europe and create, in the long run, a European system based on an energy market regulated by a single exchange.

Secondly, a minimum threshold must be encouraged, along with a minimum number of spot transactions to be completed in these markets, as a large number of these transactions are completed on a long-term basis and have nothing to do with price movements on the global markets. Thirdly, additional measures need to be adopted to do away with the monopoly position of those who purchase energy on a wholesale basis. Lastly, I would like to mention that transactions are needed to compensate power producers for …

(The President cut off the speaker)

  Petru Constantin Luhan (PPE). – (RO) Mr President, the energy market has not only a trans-European but a regional scope as well. The European Union’s energy markets are increasingly extending beyond national borders, a trend which is set to gain considerable pace in the period ahead. Unfortunately, the system regulating the energy market’s transparency and abuse has created significant discrepancies in terms of applicable regulations and the level of transparency. I think that we need consistent regulations at EU level and a mechanism which will enable the authorities to access information from the whole Union to help gain an in-depth understanding of how the market is evolving.

However, I recommend taking into account the fact that Europe’s energy markets are organised in regional groups. I think that we need to continue to focus greater attention on the specific features of national and regional markets so that we can ensure the proper enforcement of legislative regulations.

  Günther Oettinger, Member of the Commission. – (DE) Mr President, honourable Members, firstly, with this regulation, we are venturing into new territory. Therefore, I cannot say with certainty that all the provisions in the regulation will prove to be 100% practical in 10 years’ time. We are beginning now with a practical test. We believe that the measures we have proposed are correct and we will come back to you with progress reports from the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and from the Commission about whether and where improvements must be made, and whether the regulation should be revised, the instruments improved even further and the measures optimised.

The question of why a separate agency is needed has been asked. We have deliberately not proposed a separate agency. Instead, we have commissioned the agency which works together with the national regulators and which was established in March, ACER, to take on this additional responsibility, because there are many overlaps between ACER’s current activities and the new tasks. If ACER had not been given this task, it would have to have been carried out either solely by the national regulators, which would have meant that there would be no pooling of resources or harmonisation of sanctions and that other benefits would have been lost, or by the Commission working together with the Directorate-General. However, Directorates-General perform a management and monitoring function. They are not responsible for day-to-day administration.

Thirdly, like you, I am concerned about the following questions: What positions do we have to create in order to carry out the tasks effectively? What other resources do we need? What IT systems do we require? The agency will now take responsibility for this work. As soon as we know more about the workload, we will be happy to come back to Parliament and to ensure by means of restructuring or authorising the creation of new positions that the agency can cope with the amount of work in a few years and provide the required level of monitoring.

The question of the establishment of external bodies or liaison offices has been raised. We have currently told the agency and its boards, its director and supervisory bodies that it should decide how it is organised. I do not think that we should have an external body in the capital of every Member State. We will be happy to report at the next opportunity on whether these are needed and, if so, where. However, I am very reluctant to propose external bodies.

Mr Remek called the internal market into question, which is a reasonable thing to do. We can once again ask the question: has the internal market in electricity and gas been a sensible development in terms of competition and transparency? It was established 15 years ago by this Parliament. Europe is based on the fundamental principles of the market economy. Alongside the union for peace, the internal market, which has removed trade barriers and borders and allowed for competition and transparency, is a basic tenet of the European idea. There is an internal market for food, cars, white goods, brown goods and for products and services of every kind. The internal market and the trade agreements with third countries have, in principle, brought benefits for Europe. I believe that this means that the internal market is the right basis on which to do business.

Therefore, it is, in principle, also logical to subject not only coal and oil, which have been internal market products for several decades, but also electricity and gas to the rules of the internal market. In addition, if there were no internal market in electricity, but there was a European Union, we would now need a European electricity company. That would be a bureaucratic nightmare. Furthermore, it is only within the internal market that we can work towards our common goals for reducing CO2 emissions and introducing renewable energy. Only in the internal market can we also achieve solidarity among the Member States.

This is not therefore a question of whether the internal market is right, because it is right. Instead, this is about ensuring that it is used correctly and not abused. For this reason, I believe that we have taken a decisive step today towards putting the internal market on a proper, trustworthy footing and, as far as possible, preventing market abuse and attacks on the internal market and on the benefits for market participants, in other words, insider knowledge, in the same way as has been done successfully in the case of other services in Europe.

I would like to thank you once again for your constructive comments and for your cooperation over the last six months. When you come to a conclusion tomorrow in Parliament, we will immediately implement the results of your decision.

IN THE CHAIR: LIBOR ROUČEK
Vice-President

  Marcin Korolec, President-in-Office of the Council. – (PL) Mr President, Commissioner, honourable Members, I think this debate has shown the importance which all of us and which all the institutions attach to the introduction of instruments to strengthen the functioning of the single energy market. We are involved in the very important but difficult process of building the internal market – and it is a process and not a single event, which is something we all have to bear in mind.

I think that in particular, it is necessary to call attention here to the time which was needed to reach a compromise between the institutions, particularly in an area so sensitive as the energy market and at a time which is so turbulent as it is now. Of course, we always face a dilemma as to whether we should try to achieve perfect results or go through procedures quickly. I think it is important that particularly today, we proceed quickly and that we do the job well. In this context, I would like to respond to a number of doubts, which were expressed, for example, by Mr Goebbels, Mr Turmes, Mr Swoboda, Mr Paksas and others, concerning sanctioning regimes. We have, in the form of an annex to the text of the regulation, a joint declaration made by the institutions which says that we are going to work together to reinforce the system in the future.

I would also like to pledge, on behalf of the Presidency, but also on behalf of the Member States of the Council, that we will work very intensively on the question of delegated and implementing acts in the comitology process. There were also a number of voices, such as those of Ms Jordan Cizelj and Mr Turmes, which called for the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators to be given the appropriate financial resources for it to be an efficient instrument for the implementation of this regulation, and I completely share this position. With Mr Oettinger, I share the hope that the regulation which has been discussed today will be treated in the future as a milestone in the building of the energy market, the building of a transparent market which is friendly to our consumers and friendly to our businesses.

  Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, rapporteur. – (DE) Mr President, it only remains for me to thank everyone and, in particular, once again to wish Mr Pototschnig, the director of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), who is with us today, every success with his work. He only assumed responsibility for this area in March and it is already becoming clear that the resources available to him may be inadequate, as the two previous speakers and many other of my fellow Members have said. Therefore, we will soon be in the position where we have to provide the ACER with additional resources. I would like to give Mr Pototschnig and his team my best wishes for their work on an issue which is important to consumers.

  President. – The debate is closed.

The vote will take place tomorrow (Wednesday, 14 September 2011).

Written statements (Rule 149)

  Elena Băsescu (PPE), in writing. – (RO) Romania has experienced such abusive practices and their adverse impact. While benefiting from preferential, non-transparent contracts, some companies have been able to purchase energy at rock-bottom prices, which they resell later on at prices up to three times higher. These measures allow the EU to move towards setting up a single energy market and achieving open, fair competition in the wholesale sector.

The powers provided for in Article 14, whereby the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) will encourage the harmonisation of the regulatory framework with third countries, are also important. I must emphasise that the main beneficiaries are end consumers. The general public in particular will be able to enjoy better protection against volatile prices and high costs caused by abusive practices. I hope that these measures can be applied as soon as possible. The efficient operation of the energy market is vital to the whole economy and to the everyday life of Europe’s citizens.

  Bogdan Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz (PPE), in writing. – (PL) The EU regulation on energy market integrity and transparency will apply to all enterprises involved in the energy market in the European Union. It will govern the principles of entering into contracts and questions of the origin, supply and transport of natural gas and electricity.

I think we have achieved a compromise which does not act against the development of competition in the European energy market, nor does it weaken the full liberalisation of the market proposed by the European Commission. The European infrastructure and the market instruments which comprise the third energy liberalisation package for integrity and transparency of trade in the wholesale energy market, a package which is supported by European Commission initiatives, should ensure liberalisation of national electricity markets and harmonisation of legislation. The agreement which has been reached will be a success both for the Hungarian and the Polish Presidencies, and its effects will complete integration of the market by 2014.

  Vladimir Urutchev (PPE), in writing. – (BG) I support the Chatzimarkakis report and the compromise reached with the Council on adopting at first reading the Regulation on energy market integrity and transparency. The reason is that it establishes rules for managing this market on a pan-European scale and ensures protection against energy trade abuses which are always at the end customer’s expense.

This regulation is a necessary step in the process of building a single energy market with regulatory transparency and sufficiently robust monitoring of consumer protection. In fact, wholesale traders will be obliged to disclose their energy transactions and will be unable to use manipulative practices or insider trading to produce bumper profits mainly through the final prices for energy products and services.

The Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) is the right institution for monitoring trade transactions and for providing data to countries when they are investigating breaches and imposing sanctions. However, national regulators bear the fundamental responsibility and have the powers to provide a transparent, competitive energy market.

I call on the Commission to draft urgently the necessary provisions for reporting information from traders, as well as to set up immediately a single EU register for energy traders. It is high time that only registered market participants should conclude wholesale energy transactions.