Tuesday, Members of the European Parliament and key representatives from industries across the energy system met with Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager. On the agenda was the newly presented winter package, opening up for dialogue on how to ensure sound and fair competition for the future energy market.
Energy Solutions summoned key policy-makers and industrial solutions creators for discussions on the winter package “Clean Energy for All” within the European Parliament – with a backdrop illustrating the energy issues from rooftops to chimneys to again streets of Brussels.
Members of the European Parliament Committees on energy, competition and environment alongside key industry representatives met with Commissioner on Competition, Margrethe Vestager, for an open dialogue on competition rules and how policy-makers can create the optimal enabling framework for long-term investments across the energy system.
Commissioner Vestager made it clear how she sees competition rules and that the energy sector is very much intertwined:
We want to secure the free flow of energy without barriers – to make energy affordable and to make the European economy to become sustainable. This is a broad political agenda, which requires new legislation.
The advantage of competition policy is that by its very nature works across sectors, with merger control, antitrust and state aid guidelines.
We want to secure the free flow of energy without barriers – to make energy affordable and to make the European economy to become sustainable – Commissioner on Competition, Margrethe Vestager.
Rock solid regulation
The dialogue highlighted challenges and solutions regarding i.a. renewable energy, state aid, and the emission trading system, making it clear that the policy proposal with the winter package will define the energy market many years to come. This requires profound efforts:
The top priority of the European Commission is to make sure that the policy proposal is not – as we say – built on sand. In stead, regulation should rest on rock-solid ground. This takes due diligence and thorough collaboration between the Council, European Commission and the European Parliament, says Vestager.
The European Parliament now starts deliberations on the policy proposal, including a new design of the electricity market in Europe where policy-makers need input from the world outside including entities that at the end of the day are the sum of the future energy market, says President to Energy Solutions, Vice President to the energy Committee (ITRE) and Member of the European Parliament, Morten Helveg Petersen.
Energy Solutions is a cross-national, sectorial and individual network launched on the initiate of Helveg Petersen, facilitating dialogue between decision-makers from the European Commission, European Parliament and key industry representatives in delivering a direct response to the Energy Union.
The top priority of the European Commission is to make sure that the policy proposal is not – as we say – built on sand. In stead, regulation should rest on rock-solid ground. This takes due diligence and thorough collaboration – Commissioner on Competition, Margrethe Vestager.