The EU Internal Energy Market and Decarbonization

This chapter focuses on the internal energy market development as an important tool to reach the decarbonization objectives agreed by the European Council in 2009 and anchored in the 2050 Energy Roadmap (see Chapter 1). The EU internal energy market constitutes the integration of EU member states’ gas and electricity markets into one single market based on the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons. It aims to create free and fair competition in the energy sector, in which consumers (both industrial and household) can freely choose their supplier, and suppliers can provide gas and electricity without any restrictions across borders. Apart from this freedom of choice, fair competition would also require harmonized national regulations and market structures that are free from dominant players (Eikeland, 2011, p. 15). Since natural gas is a fossil fuel that emits greenhouse gases, it is not easily compatible with achieving EU long-term decarbonization objectives (Dupont & Oberthur, 2012; see also Chapter 9). For this reason, the chapter focuses on the EU electricity market and its role in attaining EU climate policy goals for 2050.