The EU Commission is to take legal action against Ireland and 16 other member states for failing to implement EU laws on the liberalisation of gas and electricity markets.
A formal notice has been sent to Ireland, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia and the UK.
Europe's Energy Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, said that member states had to implement directives on gas and electricity quickly and in full.
The commission wants to see energy markets opened to full competition by 1 July 2007.
