The EC has recently reported on how competition should be improved across all countries. There is no doubt that they feel further liberalisation is required and whilst some countries have been leading on this (the UK) and have good regulation in place, others are not so well advanced (France).

The UK (specifically Alistair Darling) has welcomed the report and says that transparency and clear regulation should be encouraged. The French minister has said it agrees with the commission just not the way to achieve it and so does not believe in further break up of the monopoly in France.

France was supposed to start de-regulation by 1996 and will possibly achieve this status this year. Britain on the other hand started comeptition in 1990 was fully de-regulated by 1998 had two rounds of generation divestment and changed the trading structure of the market by 2001. Its duopoly was broken into a oligopoly and whilst this is still arguably the case it is dominated by two players (the original duopolists) and they in turned are owned by Germans.

When will the EU and countries be able to do what France does and turn around and go "bof!"