Abstract
The European Council at Stockholm requested a detailed evaluation of the situation in the electricity and gas sectors relating to market opening. This has been carried out in the form of a benchmarking report considering in detail the regimes in place in different Member States for electricity and gas. The report has been compiled using information collected from market players and government agencies following a detailed survey. A number of individual studies have also been completed by DG Energy and Transport using both its own resources and external consultants. (A)