For ten years all the great choices were consensual despite appearances

The decision of the Constitutional Council the law relating to the energy sector highlights the triple contradiction adherence to public authorities: contradiction between the acceptance of the directives and the fear to pedagogy. contradiction between liberalisation on the one hand, the maintenance of monopolies and administered prices in fact assigned (or imposed) historical operators, on the other; Finally contradiction between privatization of GDF and the perpetuation of elements of a national public service of the gas.

For ten years, all the great choices were consensual, despite appearances. It is with the approval of the two heads of the Executive, in full cohabitation, the passage of individuals to the competition has been set for July 1, 2007, at the March 2002 Barcelona Summit. No one has criticized attempt to perpetuate the fixing, by the Government, the Parliament of tariff products exchanging both on open markets, and in particular not the authors of the referral to the Constitutional Council: they stressed instead that the mission of public service prohibited the privatization of GDF. The Constitutional Council which, after having censored on its own initiative the Act because of the incompatibility manifest tariff logic with our European commitments, found that this mission, thus destroyed, was more failure to privatization.

When therefore admit that the increase in the price of energy is both inevitable and, economically as well as environmentally, healthy That neither the liberalisation of the markets in the single European Act of 1986 or more broadly the EU is the first cause That the perpetuation of rates artificially low administered, for businesses and individuals, impoverishes our public enterprises in the sector of energy against the competition When will it cease finally respond to the problems of today with the solutions of yesterday This is not to pay tribute to our veterans to use instruments that they have invented to rebuild the France in closed, in the 20th century economy in an open economy in the 21st century: they were then shown a boldness terribly failed us. Indeed, EDF tariffs then reflected costs of long-term development: they were not the result of political decisions.

Again censorship merely to prohibit the return to the monopoly of the individuals in the market: the decision of 30 November does not end the coexistence of rates and prices and valid same transitional return to the tariff of industrialists who have benefited from the initial decline in prices. The European crisis couve. You still need to know will the constitutional judge us to face our contradictions and to invite our leaders to take their responsibilities to lower costs.

In this regard, it would be preferable to reread the guidelines, rather than call an unrealistic repeal: the France would probably encounter 26 objections. Because these bitterly negotiated texts allow the protection of the weakest consumers in giving them the right to a power and to the gas "set" quality "at reasonable prices." must justify these measures in their nature and their scope and not to prevent the opening of markets by discouraging consumers out of monopolies that it perpetuates. But, more simply, would it be preferable to leave prices play their role of economic signal for investors as for consumers and help by the tax expenditure and social action, all those who need Since electricity and gas have become the "necessities", they are of national solidarity, and therefore the tax instead of grants crossed to the detriment industrial consumers, electricity producers or importers of gas.

Accept to see the economic realities of the energy sector and the underlying ecological issues does obviously not to remedy the shortcomings of a hastily built on the model of air transport or telecommunications and liberalization ignorant as well the expectations of consumers and the specificities of the energy sector: the need for regulatory framework is much larger, more powerful dimension of public servicesolidarity between operators and the preservation of industrial employment must balance the competition, and it is imperative to allow public authorities to inform the future for consumers, operators in the sector and their foreign partners. The system essentially short-termiste born guidelines is indeed not compatible with interdependent networks industry where investments depreciate thirty, fifty, or even sixty years. It is in this sense, pursuant also to the proposals made by the France partners last January, it should be complete and correct construction of the European energy market.