The entire EU energy market was thrown open to competition yesterday, allowing consumers to choose their gas and electricity suppliers and spelling an end for monopolistic state-run utilities.
The liberalization process has been resisted in some countries and welcomed in others, highlighting different attitudes to competition and the notion of protecting national interests in the energy sector.
The European Commission, which has championed the process, notes that reforms have not been fully implemented in some parts of the EU, meaning a handful of former state energy monopolies still enjoy a crushing grip on their domestic markets.
"It is undeniable that great progress has been made," EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said in a recent speech. "However, it is equally undeniable that many of our basic objectives have not yet been achieved."
"Markets remain stubbornly national in scope, cross-border trade is difficult and limited, and far too many customers have little or no real competitive choice of supplier," he said.
In theory, companies have been able to choose a supplier for their gas and power since 2004. Yesterday marked the first time the household market has been opened.
Ten of the EU's 27 member states have led the liberalization vanguard ahead of the deadlines, with the UK setting the trend by opening its markets to competition as far back as 1990.
But the long journey to full market liberalization has been marked by frequent battles between the commission and more reluctant member states.
The commission is also keen to see more powerful energy regulators to fight anti-competitive behavior, improved cooperation between network operators and increased investment.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
FIRST TRIAL: Ko’s lawyers sought reduced bail and other concessions, as did other defendants, but the bail judge denied their requests, citing the severity of the sentences Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was yesterday sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Taipei prosecutors in December last year asked the Taipei District Court for a combined 28-year, six-month sentence for the four cases against Ko, who founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The cases were linked to the Core Pacific City (京華城購物中心) redevelopment project and the mismanagement of political donations. Other defendants convicted on separate charges included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), who was handed a 15-year, six-month sentence; Core Pacific
RSS