Annals of the University of Oradea: Economic Science (Jul 2016)
PROMOTING COMPETITION ON THE NATURAL GAS MARKET IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to analyze the development of natural gas infrastructure in the EU and discuss its prospects. The first part is shown the relationship between the regulatory framework of the European Union and development investments to increase competition in the gas sector. High consumption of natural gas in the Member States of the European Union has led to a dramatic increase in imports, and this trend is likely to continue in the future. In addition, resource security after prolonged disruptions of gas supply initiates a series of projects that should enhance security of supply by promoting market integration and allow natural gas flows reversed. In this context the European regulations to encourage investment coming into interstate natural gas transmission pipelines, an industry characterized by a special regulatory framework. The European Commission adopted in 2015 a list of 195 key energy infrastructure projects that will help achieve the objectives on energy and climate in Europe and form key elements of the EU Energy Union. The projects - known as project of common interest (PCIs) - will allow connection Energy Union through gradual integration of energy markets in Europe and the diversification of energy sources and transport routes. In Europe it is found that the gas market is generally well integrated physically in the west, but in Southeast Europe, there is severe congestion. Following the failure of infrastructure projects in the region, Nabucco and South Stream project is investigating BRUA for infrastructure integration in this region of Europe. In the second part of the article analyzes the integration of Romanian gas transmission system in the European market during the next decade. Economic theories of investment in gas infrastructure does not provide clear indications of the conditions in which levels of investment can be effectively achieved, but demonstrated the added value of using a new institutional economic prospects. The author tries to make an assessment of the impact of national gas infrastructure development on the Romanian economy.
