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EUROPEAN CURRENT SURVEY 16[2006/2007]4 ULR 169

At the meeting of Energy The first meeting of the Energy Ministers of the Energy Community after the entry into
Community, Ministers agree on force of its Founding Treaty earlier in 2006 took place in Macedonia. The Energy Community
concrete measures for the provides a framework for co-operation in the energy sector between South and Eastern
development of energy markets Europe and the European Community on the basis of EU legislation related to energy. Its
(IP/06/1579 and IP/06/1580) 17 aim is to harmonise the functioning and development of the energy market in order to
November 2006 improve the security of supply for all citizens of the countries involved. On the occasion of
the meeting, the parties granted observer status to four applicant countries – Moldova,
Norway, Turkey and Ukraine – thus marking their commitment to implementing the principles
of the Energy Community Treaty. The parties also adopted the Energy Community work
programme outline and reiterated the importance of the social dimension for the Energy
Community.

EU and Japan reach agreement on a The EU and Japan have confirmed their agreement on a so-called ‘broader approach’ to
broader approach to fusion energy fusion energy. This agreement will create a privileged partnership complementing the ITER,
(IP/06/1608) 22 November 2006 the major international fusion energy project. The ITER partnership includes Japan, Russia,
Korea, China, India and the United States, with the European Union hosting the project at
Cadarache in France. This new ‘broader approach’ agreement commits the EU and Japan to
working together on projects, in particular the design of a high-tech materials testing facility,
which will complement research in ITER and set the basis for the construction of a future
demonstration fusion power plant. The agreement is valid for ten years and represents
about €340 million of European investment. The three main projects covered by the agreement
are the following: (1) completing the detailed and fully integrated engineering design of the
International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF); (2) the Japan-EU Satellite Tokamak
Programme; and (3) the International Fusion Energy Research Centre.

The EU and the countries of the The Energy Ministerial Conference of the ‘Baku initiative’, which brings together the EU
Black Sea and Caspian Sea regions Member States and the governments of the Caspian and Black Sea regions, agreed on a new
agree on a common energy strategy energy road map which sets out a long-term plan for enhanced energy co-operation between
(IP/06/1657) 30 November 2006 all partners. The road map, agreed by the European Commission and the Governments of
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkey,
Ukraine, Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation (as an observer), sets out a plan of action to
bridge the gap between the current situation in the energy sector of these countries and
the long-term vision for a common energy strategy. All parties agreed to make every effort
to facilitate and mobilise private and public financial resources from partner countries, EU
assistance and international financial institutions to support this process.

Electricity
European Commission approves The European Commission has cleared the concentration whereby Edison SpA, an Italian
planned acquisition of Eneco Energia company active in the electricity and gas sector in Italy, would acquire sole control of Eneco
by Edison Energia SpA, an Italian company active in the retail supply of electricity in Italy. The parties’
(IP/06/1438) 19 October 2006 activities overlap only on the market for the retail supply of electricity to non-regulated
clients. However, in the Commission’s view, taking into consideration the limited position of
the parties on this market and the presence of strong competitors, such as Enel, Eni and EGL
Italia, the transaction is not likely to have any anti-competitive effects in this market. Edison
and AEM are also active in the vertically related market for the wholesale supply of electricity
in Italy. However, in view of their limited position on this market and the presence of other
competitors, the proposed transaction is not likely to create supply problems on either the
relevant retail or the wholesale markets.

European Commission opens The European Commission has launched an in-depth investigation to establish whether the
inquiry into France’s guarantee to guarantee granted by France in the form of a €570 million loan from a syndicate of banks
Finnish electricity producer TVO financing the Finnish electricity producer Teollisuuden Voima Oy (‘TVO’) is compatible with
(IP/06/1456) 24 October 2006 EC State Aid rules. The Commission considers that it needs to obtain clarification from
France and interested parties to establish whether the total costs of the loan (interest rate,
plus guarantee of the premium paid by TVO to the French Government) conform with
market practices for this type of financial instrument. On the basis of information currently
available to it, the Commission considered that it could not be ruled out that the provision
of a guarantee for which TVO pays a fee to the French Government (the ‘guarantee premium’)

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