Gas market in the Czech Republic after accession to the EU and its future development

The paper deals with the present situation of the Czech gas market after accession to the European Union. Core issue is the state of gas market liberalization and its future development. Furthermore it draws market structure before and after liberalization, especially the timing of market opening and determination of rules for transportation, distribution and storage and market regulation. Moreover, first experiences with half year of partly liberalized market are discussed. Finally the paper summarizes the most important issues regarding Czech gas market to be solved in forthcoming years. In conclusion, only the emergence of new traders and creation of gas to gas competition at gas hubs together with effective cooperation with neighboring EU countries (regulators and transportation system operators) will be the first step towards competitive EU single gas market. (Author)