Euro Coop organised a conference to present and debate the conclusions of the study "Consumers and the regulation of energy markets". This Study is part of a project co-financed by the European Union and has as main objective to analyse the way in which the electricity and gas markets are regulated and how consumer organisations participate in this regulation. In order to do so, three European markets have been compared: Portugal, Spain and Italy.
The conference was divided into two sections. In the morning, the speakers discussed about institutional issues such as the existence of independent regulators, their powers and competences, accountability, the way that consumer organisations can participate in the decision-making procedures.
In the afternoon session, the debate focused on energy markets structures and competition issues which arise from the liberalisation process. Particular attention will also be drawn to the reduction of energy dependency and security of supply, and the way that consumers needs can be fulfilled in the future as regards the universal service.
| EURO COOP is the European Association of Consumer Cooperatives. Our primary objectives include representing to the EU institutions the interests of consumer cooperatives and their 22 million consumer-members across 17 European countries. |
