The European Parliament in plenary session adopted new rules in order to prevent abuses in wholesale energy trading, and thus protect end consumers. Thanks to this Regulation, wholesale trading will now be monitored independently across the EU, to enable Member States to prevent and punish anti-competitive behaviour. Once the Regulation is agreed by the Council formally at first-reading it will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the EU Official Journal.

MEPs approved the EU Regulation on energy market integrity and transparency (REMIT) with 616 votes in favour, 26 against and 24 abstentions. The new rules will govern all wholesale energy trading in the EU, covering contracts and derivatives for the supply and transportation of natural gas and electricity. The Energy Committee gave its approval to this new Regulation last July.

Among measures within the new Regulation, from now on all trade deals will be monitored by the newly established Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) which will supply the data to EU Member States, to aid them in investigating breaches of the regulation and enforce remedies. To balance ACER's powers with those of national regulators and ensure its independence, its Director will be required to consult them on REMIT issues, but will not be bound by their opinions.

In addition, an EU register will be drawn up, based on national registers and listing all energy traders. No market participant will be able to enter into a transaction unless it has been registered. These measures will ban the use of insider information and market manipulation practices, while national penalties for breaches will have to reflect the damage done to consumers.