European countries need greater commitment to meet gas directive

The European Commission has said that France, Germany, and Luxembourg could face legal action if they fail to meet the deadline for natural gas market liberalisation.
EU member states are required to open a minimum 20 % of their gas markets to competition under the European Gas Directive. However, Paris and Berlin will not have the necessary national legislation in place until the end of the year at the earliest, and Luxembourg is expected to delay until the end of October or later.

The countries will now have to show a greater commitment to meeting the directive or they will face EU sanctions, according to an official at the European Commission. Although Germany believes that its gas market is already open to competition under amendments to its cartel and energy industry laws, the Commission has said that a number of key provisions are still missing.
France has only adopted a draft law to open the minimum 20 % of its gas market to competition, although Gaz de France has published the commercial conditions to give access to its pipelines.
Luxembourg reportedly intends to open 51 % of its market but has yet to submit a draft gas law to parliament. The Commission has reportedly said that it hopes political pressure will persuade the three countries to comply with the EU directive.