Kroes pushes to break up Europe's energy giants[fr] 

In a speech  on 30 October, Neelie Kroes displayed the latest signs of impatience in Brussels on the slow progress made in liberalising Europe's energy markets.

Speaking at an energy conference in Lisbon, Kroes repeated previous criticisms that, ten years after its launch, the single European energy market is still a virtual concept.

"It is clear that at present there is no such thing as a competitive single market for energy in Europe," she said.

But EU antitrust rules alone will not resolve problems, she added. "Speaking very personally, I see only one way forward if we are to restore credibility and faith in the market. There has to be a structural solution that once and for all separates infrastructure from supply and generation. In other words: ownership unbundling."

Ownership unbundling is a hot topic for large power utilities such as E.ON and EDF, who are currently allowed to continue owning the physical network and provide the services that use it.

As things stand, EU legislation only requires such groups to manage infrastructure and service provisions under two legal names and keep separate accounts. But the two may continue to be owned by the same group, a situation that Kroes said leads to "systemic conflicts of interests".

"With the infrastructure in the hands of incumbent supply companies and electricity generators, opportunities for discriminating against competing suppliers abound," she said.

On 10 January, the Commission will present a comprehensive energy package that could include fresh proposals to further liberalise European gas and electricity markets.