Pointing to the recent alarming inflation in UK wholesale and retail gas prices, Mr Brown told a Commons Select Committee that the blame lies at the door of continental nations that engage in ‘protectionism’.
To remedy the situation the chancellor intends to lobby Brussels to get EU authorities to push those nations not complying with the spirit of EU liberalization policy to fall in line. Mr Brown said that he would use the next meeting of European finance ministers in Vienna to call for definitive change to take place, including setting up an independent body to investigate anticompetitive behavior.
This problem is costing us GBP10 billion a year more for gas than we should be paying, Mr Brown said. The failure to complete the single market is not just damaging to industry but is hurting consumers as well, the UK chancellor added.
According to the Guardian newspaper, average domestic fuel bills rose from GBP589 a year to GBP671 in 2005.
