Regulatory Uncertainty Is Largest Barrier To Energy Investment, Says EC

Posted by NucNet on 21 November 2014 in NucNet

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The largest barrier to investment in the European energy sector is regulatory uncertainty, the director-general for energy at the European Commission (EC), said yesterday at a conference on shaping the EU’s energy policy to boost competitiveness.

Dominique Ristori said at the Brussels conference that Europe should have an “adequate legal framework” to give investors certainty and encourage them to put their money into the market.

Miguel Arias Cañete, commissioner for climate action and energy, said at the conference that the EU needs to “complete the common set of rules for the internal market to ensure remaining regulatory barriers to a well-integrated market are removed.”

The adoption in July 2014 of EC guidelines for energy and environmental projects which receive state aid, such as subsidies or financial guarantees, is an example of providing certainty, said the EC. Nuclear energy was excluded from the guidelines.

Full report in NucNet Database: News No. 360, 18 November 2014.