General Assembly welcomes Europex Market Vision Paper

Brussels, 16 June 2017 | At a recent meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, the General Assembly of Europex, was presented with a forward-looking study on “Exchanges – At the Core of the Future Energy Market”. The document is the result of a collective effort by all Europex members over a five-month period.

In the 33-page study, Europex provides its vision of the future of the energy markets in Europe and highlights key requirements on how to maintain and further strengthen the orchestrating role of well-functioning, efficient energy spot and derivative markets on the pathway to a clean energy system.

Besides outlining the major trends that are shaping European energy trading and the energy sector at large, the study provides concrete suggestions on how to ensure that energy markets will keep on delivering reliable and strong price signals. Energy markets are vital for an optimal matching of supply and demand, triggering investments in capacity and infrastructure and ultimately for achieving the EU’s climate and energy goals in the most efficient way.

Pieter Schuurs, the Europex Chairman, commented on this occasion: “We are very proud to be able to present this comprehensive study to our members and interested stakeholders. The paper clearly underlines the importance of energy exchanges in the current and future market design. It emphasises the need for well-functioning energy markets that continue to provide the robust price signals that will allow an increasingly complex energy system to implement the necessary changes in a cost-effective and economically viable way.”

Christian Baer, the Secretary General of Europex, added: “The present document constitutes our common vision for how energy markets and energy trading will evolve over the coming years. It is very important to clearly define what a well-functioning wholesale market is and how market principles can and must be upheld in the context of so many changes ahead. We consider this an important contribution to the current discussion on the Clean Energy for All Europeans Package but the paper certainly goes well beyond and tackles challenges that we are likely to face over the next few decades.”

The Europex Market Vision Paper was developed in cooperation with the Boston Consulting Group.