What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

Removed:The Agency should keep the European Parliament and the Council informed about the conclusions of the investigations performed in accordance with this Article.

Added:(i) the timestamp information on all of the following:

Removed:Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011

Added:(i) the date and time of placing the bid or offer;

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 15, Article 13a – paragraph 2: 2. In order to fulfil its obligations under this Regulation, the Agency may conduct all necessary on-site inspections at any premises of the persons subject to the investigation. Where the proper conduct and efficiency of the inspection so require, the Agency may carry out that on-site inspection without prior announcement to the persons subject to the investigation.

Added:(ii) the transaction date and time;

Removed:Addition aims at ensuring clarity in a way that the Agency can carry out unannounced inspections, namely without advance warning to the persons subject to the investigation.

Added:(iii) the date and time of reporting of the bid, offer or transaction;

Removed:Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011

Added:(iv) the receipt of LNG market data by the Agency.

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 15, Article 13a – paragraph 4: 4. In sufficient time before the inspection, the Agency shall give notice of the inspection to the national regulatory authority and other concerned authorities of the Member State where the inspection is to be conducted. Inspections under this Article shall be conducted provided that the relevant authority has confirmed that it is not about to start or is not in the process of carrying out an inspection at any premises of the person subject to the investigation.

Added:2. LNG market participants shall provide the Agency with LNG market data in the following units and currencies:

Removed:The amendment wants to avoid duplication of inspections at both ACER and national level.

Added:(a) transaction, bid and offer unit prices shall be reported in the currency specified in the contract and in EUR/MWh and shall include applied conversion and exchange rates if applicable;

Removed:Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011

Added:(b) contract quantities shall be reported in the units specified in the contracts and in MWh;

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 15, Article 13 c a (new): Article 13ca / Power to take statements / 1. In order to carry out the duties assigned to it by this Regulation, the Agency may interview any natural or legal person who consents to be interviewed for the purpose of collecting information relating to the subject-matter of an investigation. / 2. Where an interview pursuant to paragraph 1 is conducted in the premises of an undertaking, the Agency shall inform the regulatory authority of the Member State in whose territory the interview takes place. The officials of the regulatory authority of that Member State may assist the officials and other accompanying persons authorised by the Agency to conduct the interview.

Added:(c) arrival windows shall be reported in terms of delivery dates expressed in UTC format;

Removed:A new Article 13c is proposed in order to ensure that ACER has a comprehensive set of investigatory tools that will allow the Agency to appropriately scrutinise the market behaviours. In particular the power to take statements is relevant in the field of market abuse investigations as it will allow the Agency to obtain explanations from the market participants involved in the behaviours observed in the markets. The current EC proposal misses this relevant investigatory power that is key for investigating the trading strategies pursued by market participants and individual traders.

Added:(d) delivery point shall indicate a valid identifier listed by the Agency such as referred to in the list of LNG facilities subject to reporting pursuant to this Regulation and to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1348/2014; the timestamp information shall be reported in UTC format;

Removed:Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011

Added:(e) if relevant, the price formula in the long-term contract from which the price is derived shall be reported in its integrity.

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 15, Article 13d – paragraph 1: In order to ensure compliance with the relevant requirements set out in this Regulation, national competent authorities and the Agency shall assist each other in the course of the investigations.

Added:3. The Agency shall issue guidance regarding the criteria under which a single submitter accounts for a significant portion of LNG market data submitted within a certain reference period and how this situation shall be addressed in its daily LNG price assessment and benchmarks.”;(9) Article 8 is amended as follows:

Removed:Regulation EU 1227/2011

Added:(-a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 16, Article 15 – title: Obligations of persons professionally arranging transactions

Added:“1. Market participants, or a person or authority listed in points (b) to (f) of paragraph 4 on their behalf, shall provide the Agency with a record of wholesale energy market transactions, including orders to trade. The information reported shall include the precise identification of the wholesale energy products bought and sold, the price and quantity agreed, the dates and times of execution, the parties to the transaction and the beneficiaries of the transaction and any other relevant information. Market participants shall include information about their exposures, detailed by product, including the transactions that occur over the counter. While overall responsibility lies with market participants, once the required information is received from a person or authority listed in points (b) to (f) of paragraph 4, the reporting obligation on the market participant in question shall be considered to be fulfilled.”;

Removed:Providing coherence with the amendment to the definition of PPATs.

Added:(a) the following paragraph 1a is inserted:

Removed:Regulation EU 1227/2011

Added:“▌1a. For the purpose of reporting records of wholesale energy market transactions, including orders to trade, entered, concluded or executed at organised market places, where a market participant trades through an organised market place, those organised market places, or third parties on their behalf, shall make the order books available to the Agency, in accordance with the specifications set out in the Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1348/2014, thereby fulfilling on behalf of market participants their obligations pursuant to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 16, Article 15 – paragraph 1: Any person professionally arranging transactions in wholesale energy products who reasonably suspects that an order to trade or a transaction, including any cancellation or modification thereof, might breach Article 3, 4 or 5 shall notify the Agency and the relevant national regulatory authority without further delay.

Added:1aa. LNG market participants and any other person or authority on their behalf, as listed in paragraph 4, points (b) to (f), of this Article shall provide systematically the Agency with a record of LNG market data, in accordance with the specifications set out in the Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1348/2014.”;

Removed:Providing coherence with the amendment to the definition of PPATs.

Added:(b) in paragraph 2, the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:

Removed:Regulation EU 1227/2011

Added:“Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 21(2). They shall take account of existing transaction reporting systems for monitoring trading activity to detect market abuse.”

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 16, Article 15 – paragraph 2: Persons professionally arranging transactions in wholesale energy products shall establish and maintain effective arrangements and procedures to:

Added:(c) in paragraph 3, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:

Removed:Providing coherence with the amendment to the definition of PPATs.

Added:3. Persons referred to in points (a) to (d) of paragraph 4 who have reported transactions in accordance with Regulation (EU) 600/2014 or Regulation (EU) 648/2012 shall not be subject to double reporting obligations relating to those transactions.

Removed:Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011

Added:(d) paragraph 4 is amended as follows:

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 16 – point - a (new), Article 16 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2: (-a) in paragraph 1, subparagraph 2 is replaced by the following: / ‘The Agency shall publish non-binding guidance on the application of the definitions set out in Article 2, as well as non-exhaustive indicators relating to insider trading and market manipulation set out in Articles 3 and 5 respectively, as appropriate.’

Added:(-i) the introductory part is replaced by the following:

Removed:(Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011)

Added:“For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 1a, information shall be provided by:”

Removed:The proposed change ensures that ACER can publish guidance on indicators and examples of market manipulation. In fact, market manipulation is a very wide concept and is useful for market participants to have a better understanding of what is considered under this concept. MAR has an Annex defining possible examples, but given that market developments are very fast, in our view it is more efficient if ACER develops guidance documents that can be more easily (and timely) updated if needed.

Added:(i) point (d) is replaced by the following:

Removed:Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011

Added:(d) an organised market place, a trade-matching system or other person professionally arranging or executing transactions;

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 18, Article 16a – paragraph 1: 1. National regulatory authorities may, with the consent of the delegate and only if this would not result in disproportionate administrative burden for market participants, delegate tasks and responsibilities to other national regulatory authorities subject to the conditions set out in this Article. Member States may set out specific arrangements regarding the delegation of responsibilities that have to be complied with before their national regulatory authorities enter into such delegation agreements and may limit the scope of delegation to what is necessary for the effective supervision of market participants or groups.

Added:(ii) the following second subparagraph is added:

Removed:The delegation of tasks and responsibilities might create more burden for market participants, therefore it shall be limited to when is absolutely necessary.

Added:“The information shall be provided through registered reporting mechanisms.”;

Removed:Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011

Added:(e) paragraph 5 is replaced by the following:

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 18, Article 16b – paragraph 1: 1. The Agency shall, with a view to establish consistent, efficient and effective supervisory practices within the Union, and to ensure the common, uniform and consistent application of Union law, issue guidelines and recommendations addressed to all national regulatory authorities or all market participants and issue recommendations to one or more national regulatory authorities or to one or more market participants on the application of Articles 3, 4, 4a, 5, 8, 9 and 9a. The guidelines issued by the Agency shall be non-binding. However, the national regulatory authorities and market participants are encouraged to make every effort to comply with those guidelines and recommendations.

Added:“5. Market participants shall provide the Agency and national regulatory authorities with information related to the capacity and use of facilities for production, storage, consumption or transmission of electricity or natural gas or related to the capacity and use of LNG facilities, including planned or unplanned unavailability of these facilities, and with inside information that is publicly disclosed pursuant to Article 4, for the purpose of monitoring trading in wholesale energy markets. The reporting obligations on market participants shall be minimised by collecting the required information or parts thereof from existing sources where possible.”;