Member states should be allowed to determine whether price regulation is necessary for keeping retail energy prices at affordable levels, a group of four Central and Eastern European countries said during the Energy Council, on 4 March. The representatives of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - known as the Visegrád Group - reiterated their position that the completion of the EU internal energy market "would not automatically mean the decrease of retail prices". "The effects of a single…
Who is vulnerable?
In a separate statement, Hungary also defied any attempt by the Commission to dictate who can be described as 'vulnerable consumer'. The Commission has been trying to align the different concepts by developing guidelines based on national best practices. It will attempt to further refine the concept of 'vulnerable customer' in its forthcoming communication on the functioning of the retail energy markets in spring. "Best practices in the form of a non-binding guideline would help the further development of member state legislation in this respect," the Hungarian position paper concluded.