8.12.2011 Official Journal of the European Union L 326/1 (Legislative acts) | REGULATIONS REGULATION (EU) No 1227/2011 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 25 October 2011 on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on Functioning of European Union, and in particular Article 194(2) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), After consulting the Committee of the Regions of the European Union, Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (3), Whereas: (1) It is important to ensure that consumers and other market participants can have confidence in the integrity of electricity and gas markets, that prices set on wholesale energy markets reflect a fair and competitive interplay between supply and demand, and that no profits can be drawn from market abuse. (2)  The goal of increased integrity and transparency of wholesale energy markets should be to foster open and fair competition in wholesale energy markets for the benefit of final consumers of energy. () OJ € 132, 3.5.2011, p. 108. (3) Position of the European Parliament of 14 September 2011 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Decision of the Council of 10 October 2011. (3) The advice of the Committee of European Securities Regulators and the European Regulators Group for Elec- tricity and Gas confirmed that the scope of existing legis- lation might not properly address market integrity issues on the electricity and gas markets and recommended the consideration of an appropriate legislative framework tailored to the energy sector which prevents market abuse and takes sector-specific conditions into account which are not covered by other directives and regu- lations. Wholesale energy markets are increasingly interlinked across the Union. Market abuse in one Member State often affects not only wholesale prices for electricity and natural gas across national borders, but also retail prices to consumers and micro-enterprises. Therefore the concern to ensure the integrity of markets cannot be a matter only for individual Member States. Strong cross- border market monitoring is essential for the completion of a fully functioning, interconnected and integrated internal energy market. Wholesale energy markets encompass both commodity markets and derivative markets, which are of vital importance to the energy and financial markets, and price formation in both sectors is interlinked. They include, inter alia, regulated markets, multilateral trading facilities and over-the-counter (OTC) transactions and bilateral contracts, direct or through brokers. To date, energy market monitoring practices have been Member State and sector-specific. Depending on the overall market framework and regulatory situation, this can result in trading activities being subject to multiple jurisdictions with monitoring carried out by several different authorities, possibly located in different Member States. This can result in a lack of clarity as to where responsibility rests and even to a situation where no such monitoring exists.