Christopher Jones is a Principal in the European Competition Law Practice Group in the Brussels office. He joined Baker McKenzie in 2018.
Christopher's career has spanned more than 30 years at the European Commission, focusing on energy policy and competition policy.
During the last two decades, Christopher held a wide range of key energy posts including Director for Renewable Energy, Energy research and Energy Efficiency, Deputy Head of Cabinet for the Energy Commissioner and Deputy Director General for Energy.
He has been at the forefront of many major key energy and competition law decisions and innovations. He played a key role in the evolution of EU competition law towards the more economic and market based instrument it is today, and was instrumental in the successful implementation of EU merger control. He was the central EU official in opening up energy markets to competition as well as developing and implementing the core of the EU's energy policy as it is today; driving the '20-20-20' renewables and energy efficiency decarbonisation agendas, and setting the gas strategy and research policies.
Christopher is also an expert on competition policy, having spent 11 years in the field including responsibility for antitrust and mergers in the Cabinet of the Energy Commissioner, and as personal Policy Assistant to two Directors' General.
He is a leading academic in the competition and energy areas, as a part-time Professor at the European University Institute, editing and co-authoring a number of standard text books on Competition Law and Energy Markets, the Internal Energy Market, and EU Renewable Law and Policy, as well as books on merger control and the standard competition law reference work, the EU Competition Law Handbook.
Following the launch of the RePowerEU package, the European Commission continues to develop the regulatory framework applicable to renewable fuels of non-biological origin (mainly renewable hydrogen). Two draft Delegated Acts that will have a significant impact on the hydrogen market have been published for public consultation under the Renewable Energy Directive recast (REDII, Directive (EU) 2018/2001).
The European Recovery Plan will pump EUR 750 billion into the economy in the relative short term, with nearly half earmarked for climate change and digital investment. This funding will support the transformation to greener, more digital, sustainable and resilient economies, and businesses active across the EU will be able to benefit.
The ongoing shift in the Global Energy landscape has been accelerated by the firm commitment of many governments around the globe to decarbonise and achieve net zero, as well as, most recently, very significant geo-political developments. A number of new energy strategies have been launched by governments around the globe (most notably, in the EU, UK and USA) as well as new regulatory frameworks put into place to enable these strategies.
On 8 March 2022, the European Commission published a communication on a Joint European Action for more affordable, secure and sustainable energy. The communication outlines a plan to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels well before 2030, starting with gas.
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The legal recognition of a type of fuel via the introduction of a legal definition and certification framework is a defining step in establishing a market for such fuels. Renewable hydrogen took this step when it was officially recognized and supported at EU level by the 2018 recast of the Renewable Energy Directive, joining biofuels and biogases, at least for what concerns its uses in the transport sector.
Following the announcement of the Recovery Plan (ERP) by the European Commission on 27 May, European leaders have now agreed to create a EUR 750 billion (US 858 billion) recovery fund to support the recovery of EU economies affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The fund will allow companies to benefit…
Following the announcement of the Recovery Plan (ERP) by the European Commission on 27 May, European leaders have now agreed to create a EUR 750 billion (US 858 billion) recovery fund to support the recovery of EU economies affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The fund will allow companies to benefit…
There is an increasing sense of urgency and expectation about putting the global economy on a path toward sustainable development. The urgency stems from a massive projected investment gap of EUR 180 billion each year to meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals. In its 2018 Action Plan on Sustainable Finance,…
The Green New Deal is the flagship of the new European Commission (2020-2025), which has recently shed light on the likely substance of the initiative in a new Communication. The main ‘headline’ is that the EU Member States have agreed (by unanimity minus one, Poland) to put into law a…