Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on conditions for access to the gas-transmission networks (COM(2003) 741 final – 2003/0302 (COD))
Date: 2004-06-02
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: energy grid, energy policy, gas supply, natural gas

28.9.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 241/31

3.8
The Member States should consult NGOs and the social
partners when carrying out the evaluations under Article 26(2).

4. Conclusions

4.1
The EESC considers that the proposal for a European
Refugee Fund (ERF) for the period 2005-2010 is justified, is
equipped with significant resources and is organised in such a
way as to facilitate the joint responsibility of the Member States
and the Community. It also stresses that reception and integra-
tion must continue to be seen as the cornerstone of a sound
asylum policy.

ever-more effective partnership, especially civil society organi-
sations and regional and local authorities. However, it stresses
that ERF II
implementing provisions must ensure effective
action and straightforward, transparent procedures for actors
other than the Member States.

4.3
The EESC underlines the need to define common criteria
for compiling data on refugees, in part in order to ensure a fair
balance between actions undertaken in different countries and
comparability between them, and urges
that Community
actions focus primarily on enhancing and sustaining the admin-
istrative and managerial capabilities of the new Member States.

4.2
The EESC appreciates the fact that, under the proposal,
the Member States and the responsible authorities they are to
set up will have the task of involving all relevant players in an

4.4
The EESC hopes that a decision on the ERF II proposal
will be taken without delay and will be backed by appropriate
and transparent implementing provisions.

Brussels, 2 June 2004.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Roger BRIESCH

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on a ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the
the Council on conditions for access to the gas-transmission
European Parliament and of

networks’

(COM(2003) 741 final – 2003/0302 (COD))

(2004/C 241/11)

On 23 January 2004 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under
Articles 95 and 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the ‘Proposal for a Regulation
of the European Parliament and of the Council on conditions for access to the gas transmission networks’.

The Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society, which was responsible for
preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 10 May 2004. The rapporteur was
Mrs Sirkeinen.

At its 409th plenary session of 2 and 3 June 2004 (meeting of 2 June 2004), the European Economic and
Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 154 votes for, one against and 10 abstentions.

1. Introduction

transmission and large and medium-sized distribution compa-
nies and the establishment of a regulatory authority on each
Member State.

1.1
The second gas-market Directive, adopted in June 2003,
is expected to provide the necessary structural changes in the
regulatory framework to tackle remaining barriers
to the
completion of the internal market for natural gas. The Directive
provides for the right for all non-household gas consumers to
freely choose their supplier by 1 July 2004 and all customers
to have the same right by 1 July 2007. It also provides for
third-party access to transmission and distribution networks on
the basis of published and regulated tariffs, access to storage
facilities on a negotiated or regulated basis, legal unbundling of

1.2
In order to meet the objective of an internal gas market,
additional detailed measures are needed regarding the manner
in which transmission systems are operated. For electricity,
similar measures have been set
in place by a Regulation
adopted in June 2003. This Regulation provides for common
tariff structures, including for cross-border trade, the provision
of
and rules
regarding congestion management.

information on interconnection capacities

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1.3
The European Gas Regulatory Forum, with the aim to
develop practical rules for transmission in the gas market,
meets bi-annually in Madrid. The Forum consists of
the
Commission, Member States, national regulatory authorities
and the gas industry and network users. The Forum agreed in
February 2002 on Guidelines for Good TPA (Third Party
Access) Practice, and on a revised, more detailed set of the
Guidelines in September 2003. These guidelines are non-
binding and agreed on a voluntary basis, but the transmission-
system operators and other parties pledged to respect them.

The Commission has monitored compliance with the
1.4
Guidelines by transmission system operators, and reports that
there remains an important and unacceptable level of non-
compliance. According to the Commission, a level playing field
in terms of access conditions to the gas-transmission network
is far from being achieved.

2. The Commission proposal

2.1
The aim of the Commission proposal is to strengthen
the internal gas market by establishing a new regulatory frame-
work for gas transmission at European level based on the
conclusions of the most recent Madrid Forum. The proposed
rules draw on the existing legislation for cross-border electricity
exchanges, but go beyond the scope of that legislation in that
they also cover network access and charging on gas-transmis-
sion networks within the individual Member States.

3. General remarks

3.1
The aim of the proposed Regulation is to set fair rules
for access to natural gas-transmission networks. The funda-
mental objectives for this is enhancing competition within the
internal gas market and ensuring security of supply to all users,
and hence observing the need to encourage investment
in
transmission infrastructure. Presently there is sufficient capacity
in the gas-transmission networks in the EU, but
this may
change soon as gas demand is growing rapidly. The EU's
growing dependence on gas supplies from non-EU countries,
with the resultant supply and safety issues, makes it essential to
manage and regulate gas-transport infrastructure.

3.2
The Guidelines of the Madrid Forum have existed since
February 2002, and in their present amended form for more
than half a year. Representatives of the gas-transmission busi-
ness claim that this time span is too short to draw any conclu-
sions concerning implementation, and would prefer to stay
with a voluntary approach and national legislation based on
the subsidiarity provided for in the second gas-market Direc-
tive. They underline the need for a reliable, stable and incen-
tive-based regulatory framework in order to make investments
possible and minimize risks for investors.

3.2.1
A relevant question is whether a main reason for
delays in implementation is genuine inability of the operators
to adjust. To this the Commission observes that in several
Member States the adjustment has been made within the given
time frame.

2.2
The Regulation on Conditions for access to the gas-
transmission networks provides for the adoption of detailed
binding guidelines, based on the current Guidelines for Good
Practice agreed at the Madrid Forum (except presently tariff
questions) and covering:

Another observation regarding the pace of adjustment
3.2.2
is that a Regulation on access to electricity transmission cross-
border networks was approved in mid 2003, complementing
the electricity market Directive approved at the same time as
the gas market Directive.

— Third Party Access services to be offered by Transmission

System Operators;

— capacity allocation and congestion management, including

use it or lose it and secondary trading mechanisms;

— transparency requirements;

— tariff structure and derivation, including balancing charges.

The regulation also provides a method for the evolution
2.3
of these Guidelines through Comitology. It requires national
Regulators to ensure that
the agreed guidelines are imple-
mented.

these

Taking

arguments

3.3
the EESC
welcomes the Commission proposal for a Regulation on condi-
tions for access to gas-transmission networks. The Committee
has, however,
to make concerning the
contents of the draft Regulation.

some comments

into account,

3.4
The scope of the draft Regulation is one issue for discus-
sion: Should it cover all transmission within the EU or only
cross-border transmission? Should it also include storage facil-
ities? The EESC would like the regulation to permit the comple-
tion of a stable, effective and harmonised regulatory framework
for the internal gas market, including compliance with the prin-
ciple of subsidiarity and the development of exchanges. With
this in mind, and in accordance with the political agreement on
which the directive is based, guidelines on the access to storage
facilities should be negotiated as soon as possible in the Madrid
Forum.

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3.5
A key issue is how to prepare and decide on modifica-
tions to the rules provided for in the Regulation. The Commis-
sion proposes that it shall be assisted by the Committee set up
by Article 13 of the Regulation on conditions for access to the
network for cross-border exchanges in electricity. The present
rules have been agreed upon in the Madrid Forum, where the
transmission system operators and network users are repre-
sented. Their involvement should be guaranteed also in the
future by recognising in the Regulation that future modifica-
tions will be based on agreements at the Madrid Forum by
making, for instance, an addition to Article 14 or the recitals.

4. Detailed comments

4.1 With a view to facilitating amendments to the guidelines
and avoid the need to soon amend the text of the Regulation
itself, the Definitions (Article 2) could be complemented so as
to take account of foreseeable changes in the guidelines.

4.2 Charges for access to networks (Article 3)

Article 3(1) stipulates, among other things, that the charges
must reflect effectively incurred costs,
including appropriate
return on investment. The Committee would endorse that
provided the costs involved are specified as ‘efficient, economic
costs’, as that should mean that customers can expect reason-
able tariffs.

Brussels, 2 June 2004.

Article 3(1) goes on to say that this must be done ‘where
appropriate taking regard to international benchmarking of
tariffs’. The Committee feels that the wording used here is
vague, and questions whether it is in customers' interests. The
Committee therefore proposes deleting this phrase.

Article 14 should be amended by adding the involve-

4.3
ment of stakeholders to the proposed comitology procedure.

4.4 When monitoring the implementation of the Regulation
the Commission should also bring in the views of all stake-
holders. This should be taken into account in Article 15.

The relevant networks points, on which information
4.5
must be published, are now defined in the Annex (3.2.) of the
draft Regulation. These definitions, which are vital for transpar-
ency, should be included as an Article into the body of the
Regulation text in order to make amendments to them possible
only by co-decision.

4.6
The Committee stresses the sensitive, strategic nature of
gas infrastructure: balancing of networks, pressure thresholds at
nodes, development of infrastructure for transporting gas by
pipeline or liquefaction, consideration of saturation thresholds.
The Community
and
measures to facilitate forward planning and proper regulation
by operators in this area.

regulation should provide means

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Roger BRIESCH