The Interplay between European Merger Control Law and the Liberalisation of European Electricity, Natural Gas and Petroleum Markets: A Critical Assess

Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2020 in the subject Law - European and International Law, Intellectual Properties, grade: 2,2, Leuphana Universit酹 Leburg (Fakult酹 Wirtschaftswissenschaften), language: English, abstract: This doctoral thesis examines how European merger control law is applied to the energy sector and to which extent its application may facilitate the liberalisation of the electricity, natural gas and petroleum industries so that only those concentrations will be cleared that honour the principles of the liberalisation directives. In 2007, the Commission emphasized that a real internal European energy market is essential to meet Europe's three energy objectives. These were for example competitiveness to cut costs for citizens and undertakings to foster energy efficiency and investment, sustainability including emissions trading, and security of supply with high standards of public service obligations. The EU issued three pre-liberalisation directives since the 1990s. Dissatisfied with the existing monopolistic structures, in Germany through demarcation and exclusive concession agreements for the supply of electricity and natural gas, which were until 1998 exempted from the cartel prohibition provision, and the prevalence of exclusive rights on the energy markets, the Commission triggered infringement proceedings against four Member States. The CJEU confirmed that the Commission has the power to abolish monopoly rights under certain circumstances and the rulings had the effect of convincing the member states to enter into negotiations for an opening up of energy markets owing to the internal market energy liberalization directives 1996 / 1998 / 2003 / 2009 / 2019. The 2nd liberalisation package of 2003 brought a widening of market opening and acceleration of pace of market opening to a greater number of eligible customers and an increase in the provisions on management and legal unbundling. The 3rd energy package of 2009 addressed ow