EU Parliament Adopts Rules To Ban Energy Market Manipulation

The European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee Tuesday adopted a draft regulation to prevent abusive practices in the energy wholesale market, and thus protect final consumers all over Europe.

The rules will be put to a vote by Parliament as a whole in September.

“Energy, as the lifeblood of our economies, must remain affordable. Therefore, this regulation is a step forward: it ensures market transparency and prevents market abuse,” said EP rapporteur on energy, Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, in press statements.

The regulation would apply to trading on the wholesale energy market and more specifically to contracts relating to the supply, production and transportation of natural gas or electricity in the EU. It would prohibit the use of inside information and market manipulation.

The regulation would require an EU register to be drawn up of all energy traders in Europe.