Has Merger Control Made a Contribution Towards the Liberalization of the Gas and Electricity Markets in the European Union?
Author: Don Francisco de Borja de la Peña y Fernàndez-Garnelo
Publisher:
Published: 2010
Total Pages: 666
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe European Commission (the "Commission") has been, for over a decade, in the midst of creating well-functioning competitive markets for gas and electricity. Given the policies of economic protectionism adopted by certain Member States, the slow pace of market reforms and the resulting signs of weakness of energy regulation, the Commission has been determined to apply vigorously its competition powers to enhance liberalisation, support restructuring and open energy markets. The frenetic level of merger activity has prompted the Commission to review over 100 transactions making merger control one of the core areas of competition enforcement. The research question is: has merger control made a contribution to energy liberalisation or energy policy? The issue of whether a competitive internal market can be built on the basis of energy regulation (existing or forthcoming) or requires the assistance of competition law, including merger control, has been a central one for some time. The general purpose of this thesis is to establish if the European Community Merger Regulation (the "ECMR") gives the Commission any scope to advance its energy policy agenda and help drive the debate. This thesis argues that merger control has made a significant contribution to energy liberalisation without having taken the place of regulation. The Commission has legal grounds and policy incentives to take the opportunity of the merger review process to ensure the introduction of competition and the acceleration of market integration.