Article 21

1. Member States shall ensure that the parties negotiate access to the system in good faith and that none of them abuses its negotiating position to prevent the successful outcome of such negotiations. 2. Member States shall designate a competent authority, which must be independent of the parties, to settle expeditiously disputes relating to the negotiations in question. In particular, this authority shall settle disputes concerning negotiations and refusal of access within the scope of this Directive. The competent authority shall present its conclusions without delay or if possible within 12 weeks of the introduction of the dispute. Recourse to this authority shall be without prejudice to the exercise of rights of appeal under Community law. 3. In the event of cross-border disputes, the dispute settlement authority shall be the dispute settlement authority covering the system of the natural gas undertaking which refuses use of, or access to, the system. Where, in cross-border disputes, more than one such authority covers the system concerned, the authorities shall consult with a view to ensuring that the provisions of this Directive are applied consistently.

← 3. · All articles · 1. →

Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-02 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.