Germany rejects Barroso energy call (FT)

Germany has rejected suggestions by José Manuel Barroso for a fresh liberalisation of Europe's energy markets, accusing the European Commission president of shooting from the hip.

A Berlin official said the view of Angela Merkel, chancellor, was Mr Barroso's proposals were both fundamentally misguided and premature.

Germany's view on the Commission's efforts to prise open Europe's energy markets is important. It is not only Europe's biggest energy market and one of the countries identified by the EU executive as having failed to open up sufficiently, but it will also hold the union's rotating six-month presidency from January. Berlin wants to make energy one of its main priorities, with goals ranging from improving security of supply to raising consumption efficiency.

The German government's clear rejection of Mr Barroso's suggestions, which he made in an interview with the FT on Monday, bodes ill for the future co-operation between the Commission and the presidency and suggests liberalisation will rank low on Berlin's agenda.

The Berlin official said the European Commission president's proposal for new legislation next year to create a pan-European energy regulator or an umbrella body for national regulators was "an old one, and onewe have always rejected".

A spokesman for Mr Barroso said on Wednesday he was confident a consensus would emerge for a further opening of European energy markets. "The status quo is not sustainable," he said.

The German government recognises energy prices remain too opaque and shielded from market forces by the oligopolistic positions of big operators. The economics ministry threatened the country's main players with a regulatory crackdown after excessive price increases.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006