BRUSSELS: The European Commission has launched an infringement procedure against Hungary on charges that the country’s energy regulations fail to comply with European Union regulations, the EC’s spokesperson for climate and energy policy Anna-Kais Itkonen told Hungarian news agency MTI.
The spokesperson said that the European Commission is reviewing all the EU member states to determine whether they comply with EU’s Third Energy Package, which is a legislative package aimed at further opening up gas and electricity markets in the European Union. According to Itkonen similar procedures were launched against Luxembourg and Belgium last year, while Hungary, Spain, France, Germany and Italy received letters on the matter on Friday.
The spokesperson told the news agency that the EC is going to examine ownership bundling, independence of regulatory authorities, consumer problems and the way transmission system fees are charged, however, she could not include further details.
Hungarian news portal Bruxinfo said the infringement procedure against Hungary had nothing to do with government-mandated utilities price cuts, Brussels was concerned rather that favorable transmission system fees charged to households were discriminative and that companies were prohibited from passing on some costs to consumers.
