Council reaches agreement on parts of electricity market reform

Today the Council agreed its stance (general approach) on a proposal for regulation on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency (REMIT).

The proposal aims to support an open and fair competition in the European wholesale energy markets, by banning trading based on inside information and deterring market manipulation.

I’m glad we found an agreement on the REMIT regulation. It is an important piece of the electricity market reform that will ensure transparency and integrity on the EU’s energy market.

Ebba Busch, Swedish Minister for energy, business and industry

The proposal on REMIT is part of a wider reform of the EU’s electricity market design. The remaining parts of the reform, that aim to make electricity prices less dependent on volatile fossil fuel prices and shield consumers from price spikes and accelerate the deployment of renewable energies and improve consumer protection, will be agreed at a later stage.

Main changes brought by the Council

The Council made the requirements for market participants in the EU that are resident in a third country clearer and stricter.

The Council agreed to increase the role of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) in investigations of significant cross-border cases to fight against the REMIT breaches.

The Council balanced these new powers by strengthening the role national regulatory authorities (NRA) so that ACER would not exercise its investigative powers if NRAs are conducting, or have already conducted, an investigation based on the same facts. On-site inspections, would be done in close coordination and cooperation with national authorities under certain conditions.

The Council also added flexibility regarding the issuing of administrative fines by member states. It included a list of criteria to set fines and gave member states the possibility to set lower fines.

Next steps

The general approach will serve as a mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament on the final shape of the legislation. The outcome of the negotiations would have to be formally adopted by the Council and the Parliament.

The text of the general approach will be made available at a later stage.

Background

The reform of the electricity market design proposes to amend the relevant electricity market legislation and improve the Union’s protection against market manipulation through better monitoring and transparency (REMIT).  

The Commission adopted the proposals on the reform of the EU's electricity market design on 14 March 2023.