Electricity: common rules for the internal market

The Commission approved the common position, which followed the same approach as its own proposals. The amendments by the Council balanced the approach without affecting the basic principles on which the amended proposal was based. However, the Commission regretted that not all distributors were eligible to take part in the new organization of the market and that the Council had eliminated new transmitting capacities from the scope of the directive. It also deplored the fact that regular consultation with residential consumers, independent producers, the social partners, environmental protection organizations etc. had been deleted. The Commission reaffirmed its intention of presenting a report on harmonization requirements by the required date.�