The report claims uncoordinated EU legislation and abrupt changes to national energy policy have created uncertainty for investors. It adds that member state policies are not necessarily in line with the development of a single European energy market.
Eurelectric said member states tend to intervene in a “stop-and-go fashion”, adding new distortions to the market, rather than creating a stable framework conducive to investments.
In order to create this stability, Eurelectric called for a greater alignment between EU and member state policy. It criticised Brussels’ “targets for everything” approach, saying market forces should be allowed to direct investment.
Responding to the report, Angela Knight, chief executive of Energy UK, said “abandoning purely target-driven policy and moving towards a more market-driven framework where investment decisions are based around economic sense”, was a “sensible” proposal.