Liberalization of EU Gas Sector: Impacts and Perspectives of Future Development

Abstract

The paper summarizes liberalization and the EU gas market opening along with its prospects and forecasts. The European gas sector is committed to ensure that natural gas, with strong environmental advantages is able to play its full part in a competitive, secure and sustainable energy sector. A successful internal market is essential to the competitiveness of Europe and contributes to investment in infrastructure to support supply security, efficiency and service. The paper also contains an analysis of the recent changes in the structure of gas demand and the supply and its consequences for enhancement of competition in the EU gas market. It discusses role of the growing gas demand, taxation of gas production and trade along with dependency of the EU gas sector. Liberalization of the gas markets is very important tool which contributes to the development of the European economy towards its goals of efficiency and competitiveness in the ever-increasing global market place. Clearly, the implementation of the EU Gas Directive can be viewed as a final step by the EU to accomplish an internal market for gas. The major objective is to promote increasing competition in the natural gas market and to reduce gas prices for all customers and thereby to increase the competitiveness of (energy-intensive) European industries and economies. Moreover, this paper discusses prospects for increased consumption of natural gas and future trends of the European gas market within the EU up to 2030.