Core elements of the third package include ownership unbundling, which stipulates the separation of companies' generation and sale operations from their transmission networks,[1]: Article 9 and the establishment of a National regulatory authority (NRA) for each Member State,[1]: Chapter IX and the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) which provides a forum for NRAs to work together.
[2] The European Commission and the Parliament wants to reach the goals of "Europe 2020 Strategy" through a secure, competitive and sustainable supply of energy to the economy and the society.
[1]: Articles 9-12 The purpose of this system is to ensure that the European energy market can't be vertically integrated.
The proposal is controversial, with questions as to who can buy the transmission networks, whether such a system will regulate the market-place and who will pay possible compensation to the energy firms.
Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Latvia and the Slovak Republic presented at the end of January 2008 a proposal for a third option.
In order to exclude discrimination against competitors, one prerequisite is the existence of a compliance officer, who is assigned to monitor a specific programme of relevant measures against market abuse.
[12] Chapter IX of Directive 2009/72/EC requires each Member State to designate a single National Regulatory Authority (NRA).
[1]: Article 35.2 Member States must ensure that the NRA is able to carry out its regulatory activities independently from government and from any other public or private entity.