L211/36 Official Journal of the European Union 14.8.2009 REGULATION (EC) No 715/2009 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 13 July 2009 on conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1775/2005 (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EURO- (4 A second set of common rules entitled ‘the Second Guide- PEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, and in particular Article 95 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (2), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (?), Whereas: (1) The internal market in natural gas, which has been pro- gressively implemented since 1999, aims to deliver real choice for all consumers in the Community, be they citi- zens or businesses, new business opportunities and more cross-border trade, so as to achieve efficiency gains, com- petitive prices and higher standards of service, and to con- tribute to security of supply and sustainability. (2)  Directive 2003/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2003 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas (*) and Regulation (EC) No 1775/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 September 2005 on conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks (°) have made sig- nificant contributions towards the creation of such an internal market in natural gas. (3)  Experience gained in the implementation and monitoring of a first set of Guidelines for Good Practice, adopted by the European Gas Regulatory Forum (the Madrid Forum) in 2002, demonstrates that in order to ensure the full imple- mentation of the rules set out in those guidelines in all Member States, and in order to provide a minimum guar- antee of equal market access conditions in practice, it is necessary to provide for them to become legally enforceable. (1) OJ C 211, 19.8.2008, p. 23. () 0 C 172, 5.7.2008, p. 55. (}) Opinion of the European Parliament of 9 July 2008 (not yet published in the Official Journal), Council Common Position of 9 January 2009 (OJ C75E, 31.3.2009, p. 38) and Position of the European Parliament of 22 April 2009 (not yet published in the Official Journal). Council Decision of 25 June 2009. (% OJL 176, 15.7.2003, p. 57. () OJ L 289, 3.11.2005, p. 1. lines for Good Practice’ was adopted at the meeting of the Madrid Forum on 24 and 25 September 2003 and the pur- pose of this Regulation is to lay down, on the basis of those guidelines, basic principles and rules regarding network access and third party access services, congestion manage- ment, transparency, balancing and the trading of capacity rights. (5)  Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas (6) provides for the pos- sibility of a combined transmission and distribution sys- tem operator. The rules set out in this Regulation do not therefore require modification of the organisation of national transmission and distribution systems that are consistent with the relevant provisions of that Directive. (6)  High-pressure pipelines linking up local distributors to the gas network which are not primarily used in the context of local distribution are included in the scope of this Regulation. (7)  Itis necessary to specify the criteria according to which tar- iffs for access to the network are determined, in order to ensure that they fully comply with the principle of non- discrimination and the needs of a well-functioning inter- nal market and take fully into account the need for system integrity and reflect the actual costs incurred, insofar as such costs correspond to those of an efficient and struc- turally comparable network operator and are transparent, whilst including appropriate return on investments, and, where appropriate, taking account of the benchmarking of tariffs by the regulatory authorities. (8)  In calculating tariffs for access to networks, it is important to take account of the actual costs incurred, insofar as such costs correspond to those of an efficient and structurally comparable network operator, and are transparent, as well as of the need to provide appropriate return on invest- ments and incentives to construct new infrastructure, including special regulatory treatment for new investments as provided for in Directive 2009/73/EC. In that respect, and in particular if effective pipeline-to-pipeline competi- tion exists, the benchmarking of tariffs by the regulatory authorities will be a relevant consideration. 9) The use of market-based arrangements, such as auctions, to determine tariffs has to be compatible with the provi- sions laid down in Directive 2009/7 3[EC. (°) See page 94 of this Official Journal.