7.11.2008 Official Journal of the European Union L 298/9 DIRECTIVES DIRECTIVE 2008/92/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 22 October 2008 concerning a Community procedure to improve the transparency of gas and electricity prices charged to industrial end-users (recast) (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 285(1) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (1), Whereas: Council Directive 90/377/EEC of 29 June 1990 concerning a Community procedure to improve the transparency of gas and electricity prices charged to industrial end-users (%) has been significantly amended on several occasions (). Now that new amendments are being made to the said Directive, it is desirable, for reasons of clarity, that the provisions in question should be recast. Energy price transparency, to the extent that it reinforces the conditions ensuring that competition is not distorted in the common market, is essential to the achievement and smooth functioning of the internal energy market. Transparency can help to obviate discrimination against users by increasing their freedom to choose between different energy sources and different suppliers. At present, the degree of transparency varies from one energy source and one Member State or one Community region to another, thus calling into question the achievement of an internal energy market. (!) Opinion of the European Parliament of 17 June 2008 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 25 September 2008. () OJ L 185, 17.7.1990, p. 16. (%) See Annex III, Part A. ©) (10) However, the price paid by industry in the Community for the energy which it uses is one of the factors which influence its competitiveness and should therefore remain confidential. The system of standard consumers used by the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat) in its price publications and the price system introduced for major industrial electricity users ensure that transparency is not an obstacle to confidentiality. It is necessary to extend the consumer categories used by Eurostat up to the limits at which the consumers remain representative. In this way end-users price transparency would be achieved without endangering the necessary confiden- tiality of contracts. In order to respect confidentiality there must be at least three consumers in a given consumption category for a price to be published. This information, which concerns gas and electricity consumed by industry for energy end-users, will also enable comparisons to be drawn with other energy sources (oil, coal, fossil and renewable energy sources) and other consumers. Undertakings which supply gas and electricity as well as industrial gas and electricity consumers remain, indepen- dently of the application of this Directive, subject to the Treaty’s competition rules and consequently the Commission can require communication of prices and conditions of sale. Knowledge of the price systems in force forms part of price transparency. Knowledge of the breakdown of consumers by category and their respective market shares also forms part of price transparency.