The European Commission said on Thursday it will take Bulgaria and
Romania to court over non-compliance with the EU gas market
rules. "The European Commission considers that Bulgaria and Romania are still
not fully in line with EU gas market rules and has therefore decided today to
take these countries to the EU Court of Justice," it said in a
statement.
"In concrete terms, the Commission considers that in Bulgaria and
Romania no interruptible reverse flow capacity (also known as 'backhaul') is
offered at all interconnection points," it said, adding that the inclusion of
reverse flow capacity is essential to use the network to its maximum capacity
and that interruptible capacity and short-term services are vital for newcomers
to enter the market.
In addition, the Commisison believes that in Romania the transmission
system operator does not entirely respect the EU transparency requirements.
Without Information on available capacity the gas market cannot become really
competitive and new entrants cannot access the markets, it
said.
Cross-border trade can only happen if all market participants have equal
access to gas transmission networks to supply customers, the Commission said.
"To guarantee this equal third party access it is important that maximum network
capacity is being offered to the market. It is equally important that reliable
and transparent Information on the capacity of the network is provided to all
market participants," it added.