This work analyses key issues of a European policy and future regulation for natural gas. The structure and performance of gas markets and the organizational characteristics of gas supply, transmission and distribution are considered.
The work examines how the regulatory policies of Member States differ substantially from one another and from most determinants of a European energy policy: differences in system of ownership on all levels of the industry; in degrees of concentration and integration; in market structures of supply and demand especially in access to natural gas sources; in regulatory policies and priorities especially regarding gas-to-gas and substitute competition; in regulatory instruments; in motions of national interest, optimal use and preservation of resources and investments; and dependence on foreign supplies. The development of Community law benefits from an appreciation of these factors, and experts from most EC member states provide a rigorous and thorough analysis of the issues.
1. Energy Policy for Natural Gas in the Internal Market - An Overview. 2. Aims and Means of European Energy Policy in the Light of the completion of the Internal Market. 3. The Development of European Energy Policy: From ECSC-Treaty to the Internal Market. 4. Could the Energy Mix be optimised through Competion or Regulation? 5. The Structure of National Gas Industries and Instruments of Regulation: -the French Gas Industry, the British Gas Industry, the German Gas Industry, experiences with Natural Gas Regulation and Competition in the U.S. Federal Systsem: Lessons for Europe. 6. Models of the Organization and Accompanying Regulation of Gas Markets in Europe. 7. European Energy Policy in Community Law. 8. The Prospects for Third Party Access in European Gas Markets. 9. Compulsory Open Access in the Gas Industry -- The Special Case of the Mediterranean Countries. 10. Organization of Supply Markets for Natural Gas in Europe, and Critical Review of Legal and Policy Arguments Driving the Discussion on Third Party Access. 11. Regional and Local Distribution Systems for Natural Gas.