Barriers to energy trade in central and eastern Europe[de] 

"We have determined three types of barriers which, of all the countries analysed, affect the new EU member states in particular. These barriers consist in, firstly, complex bureaucracies which hamper network access, secondly, in fragmented and inaccessible market structures, and, thirdly, in incompatible IT-systems which hinder the effective transfer of essential market data," explains the PwC Austria study's co-author Erwin Smole .

The study, also written by Bernard Haider, goes on to make an urgent appeal to the region's national ministries, regulators and transmission system operators, arguing that it is their responsibility to remove these barriers which continue to obstruct the integration of the central European electricity market. In addition to analysing the status quo and to providing policy recommendations, the study also contains a detailed compilation of relevant market data from the countries analysed, as well as a qualitative survey which presents the electricity traders' comments by country and by issue.