mr president i would like to thank my colleague derk jan eppink for his excellent report but particularly to make a comment about the energy market which the commission is going to look at this year
as other members have pointed out energy supply and pricing can vary greatly between different member states
in the region i represent nearly a quarter of households have no access to mainstream gas and the vast majority of those are reliant on domestic heating oil
in the one month between november and december pricing in that market rose by over fifty
consumers are concerned and very cold they are concerned about cartel pricing and there are allegations of this
it is right that this should be looked at by the domestic regulators first but i am hearing similar concerns from other eu member states
so i would like to ask the commissioner when you are looking at the energy markets this year please do not forget those who live in very rurally isolated areas
