Articles
Capacity Mechanisms in the Internal Market
Lena Sandberg
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Brussels

The European Commission has adopted three State Aid decisions on capacity mechanisms. In each case it found that State Aid was involved essentially because the compensation which capacity providers receive for making the capacity available would not otherwise have been paid for by the market. The Commission's approach to capacity mechanisms still needs to be developed and fine-tuned but the current cases already provide a general idea of the Commission's approach. Given that capacity mechanisms should only be permitted for an interim period, stakeholders should take a greater interest in the State Aid decisions which will shape their structure, at least, until the Commission has taken the hard decision of resolving the bigger issues of reducing funding to renewable energy and adopting an EU-wide capacity adequacy plan.

Competing Priorities in the Railway Sector: Competing 'for' the Market rather than 'in' the Market and Potential Lessons from Other Network Sectors 
Gordon Moir and Aiste Slezeviciute
Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP

Twenty years after the privatisation of the British railways was completed, on 8 March 2016, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published its final policy document outlining how greater competition could benefit rail passengers on GB's major intercity routes. In this article we look at the CMA's stance on competition in the rail sector, by reviewing its recent report and findings in its recent in-depth merger investigation into Arriva's takeover of the Northern Rail franchise. Drawing from experience in other regulated network industries, we consider whether there are any lessons that can be shared.