Meerderheid EU-ministers tegen opsplitsing van energiebedrijven (en)

EU energy giants may hold on to full control of their assets, amid opposition from a majority of the bloc's energy ministers to European Commission ideas on forcing energy firms to separate production and distribution wings.

"The majority is not with me," EU energy commission Andris Piebalgs i said after a meeting of 27 EU energy ministers on Wednesday (6 June), hinting Brussels may water down original ambitions to break up the sector.

It is "very difficult" for the European Commission to table a bill that would take into account all the member states' concerns, Mr Piebalgs added.

The EU's executive body has been a strong advocate of so-called "ownership unbundling" - seen as key to boosting competition and bringing down consumer prices.

It received a tentative green light for some kind of legislative move in the area at the spring EU summit (8-9 March), which outlined broad new targets in the field of energy policy.

According to the summit conclusions, EU leaders approved "effective separation of supply and production activities from network operations, based on independently run and adequately regulated network operation systems which guarantee equal and open access to transport infrastructures and independence of decisions on investment in infrastructure."

But the summit decision also stipulated that any move towards unbundling should take account of the specific characteristics of the gas and electricity sectors and of national and regional markets.

Member states are split into two camps on the issue, with, for example, the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands favouring the asset break-up idea, but with France and Germany, home to energy giants EDF and E.ON, against the plan.

According to unbundling sceptics, property-oriented unbundling would not be a step in the right direction - given the current dependence on outside energy sources - and runs the risk of EU companies falling under the control of non-European firms.

"Ownership unbundling seems to us to threaten a number of operators," France's environment minister Alain Juppe was cited as saying by Reuters after the energy ministers' meeting, adding that Russian and Algerian companies are poised to enter the European market through large acquisitions.

According to German economy minister Michael Glos - speaking on behalf of Berlin's six month EU presidency - "we are somewhere in the middle."

Mr Glos hinted the bloc is more likely to agree to a system where an independent body would regulate energy networks, which would still be owned by the energy companies.

The draft legislation on unbundling is currently being drafted by the European Commission and is due to see the light of day in autumn.