Conference on the future of the EU electricity market
01.02.2017 / 12:03 | Aktualizováno: 02.02.2017 / 12:07
The Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the European Union hosted on Tuesday, 31 January, 2017, a high-level conference “New Electricity Market Design: Framework for Achieving the Energy Union". Key note speeches were delivered by Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission, Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) and Jan Mládek, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic and Jerzy Buzek, belonged to the key speakers.
Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič stressed the importance of the so called “Winter package” for economic growth and employment in the EU on the one hand and the need to create a stable environment for investors on the other. He identified the decarbonisation of transport as the next big issue for the upcoming year.
Chairman Jerzy Buzek emphasized the importance of security of supply, solidarity and technological neutrality for the New Electricity Market Design. The European Parliament will be discussing these topics with regard to already adopted resolutions "Towards a New Energy Market Design" and "Delivering a New Deal for Energy Consumers".
Minister Mládek recalled the importance of the electricity market design, also in the context of completing the internal energy market. In his speech, Minister Mládek raised a fundamental question on how the liberalized and integrated European electricity market is to be functioning, in case the individual measures of the package would be implemented as proposed by the Commission. "Europe should not let this historic opportunity slip away. We are at the crossroad of Energy-Only-Market vs national interventionism” said Minister Mládek.
In his closing remarks summarizing the discussion Minister Mládek recalled the importance of the proposal for the new electricity market design which will determine the shape of the European energy sector in the decades to come. "This is undoubtedly the biggest leap forward for the energy sector since the beginning of the market liberalization", Minister Mládek concluded.
The new electricity market design is part of the winter package "Clean Energy for all Europeans", published by the European Commission in November 2016. The package aims to reflect on the need to deliver a stable and reliable framework for the electricity market, which will be able to fully integrate renewables, strengthen the proper functioning of the market and motivate investors to long-term investment decisions. The goal of the conference "New Electricity Market Design: Framework for Achieving the Energy Union" was to start a discussion among the representatives of Member States, European institutions, business entities in the energy sector and other stakeholders who will be involved in shaping the regulatory framework for the functioning of the Energy Union.