On 13 July 2005, the new German energy law entered into force. In their article, Dr. Camilla Bausch and Julia Rufin LL.M. explain the implementation of the European Directives in accelerating the liberalisation of the internal electricity and gas market.

Following a description of the previous process of liberalisation at the European and National levels, the introduction of the new regulation of the energy market is discussed and the new rules concerning the de-monopolisation of the energy sector are explained. Furthermore, specific national rules outlining the European requirements are illustrated.

The article provides an overview of the content of the new German energy law and an evaluation of the intended further liberalisation of the energy sector.

The article is published in issue 10, Zeitschrift für Umweltrecht. Another article provides an overview of the content of the German energy law, as adopted by the German Parliament. The unbundling rules of the electricity sector are analysed in a publication. The essential impacts of the new energy law are discussed in a contributing article.