Author Description

The European Energy Law Report IV presents an overview of the most important legal developments in the field of EU and national energy law as discussed at the 2006 European Energy Law Seminar. It examines recent developments in EU and National Law affecting the energy sector. This includes the increasing use of EU competition law to liberalise the energy markets, the long-awaited implementation of the 2003 Electricity and Gas Directives in Germany and an assessment of Regulation 1775/2005 and its effect on the European gas market. Besides the energy market liberalisation, the Community is increasingly paying attention to the need for a sustainable and clean energy supply. The second part of the book therefore includes chapters on legal issues resulting from the experiences on emission trading in 2005-2007, the regulatory challenges resulting from the new Commission Energy Policy, the impact of the Amsterdam and Berlin Fora on EU Energy policy, and the EU policy framework on energy efficiency. An important tool for improving energy efficiency is the introduction of white certificates. The third part of the report presents the basic principles of white certificates as well as practical experiences and policies in some member states like Italy, France, The Netherlands and the UK. The final part of the report considers several issues related to the development and use of subsea electricity interconnectors and pays special attention to the development of the NorNed cable. It raises the need for a Treaty perspective on the developments of such subsea interconnectors. Then some regulatory views on the development of the NorNed cable and market coupling through the cable are presented. Finally, the economic and regulatory distinction between regulated and merchant interconnectors is discussed.