BARCELONA (AFX) - EU leaders agreed to the liberalisation of gas and electricity markets for business users in 2004.

"This is a fundamental step" that will open as much as 70 pct of Europe's energy market, the summit's host, Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, told reporters.

The European Commission was proposing that the business electricity market should be opened in 2003, the business gas market in 2004 and that supply of energy to households should be liberalised in 2005.

Leaders agreed to re-examine within a year the question of the opening of the household market, for which France was unwilling to set a date here.

In return for accepting opening of its business energy markets, France won the removal of a timetable for the total liberalisation of rail freight. Spain, which hosted the

Spain was proposing to adopt an agreement in 2004 enabling the liberalisation of all European rail freight in 2006.

French President Jacques Chirac said: "We are in favour of opening (the energy market) but not at the expense of our public services." France wants to ensure equal treatment for all users, he said.

Aznar said: "This will pretty much liberalize 70 percent of the energy market." Although the official estimate is 60 pct, "I think it will be much closer to 70...The 60 pct estimate was on the safe side.

"So to go from zero to 70 pct is pretty significant, and I think it should certainly be seen in its true light.

"We also had committments to take decisions to go to as much as 100 pct and those decisions will be taken shortly," he said, referring to the agreement to set, by next year's Spring summit, a date for considering free energy competition for households.

Aznar said the competition accord, along with parallel decisions on energy taxation and interconnection of national electricity grids, amount to "an extraordinary, significant and relevant package of liberalization reform."

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EU SUMMIT Aznar, Prodi say leaders' decisions will boost EU growth
BARCELONA (AFX) - Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar and European Commission president Romano Prodi said the decisions taken by EU leaders at their summit here will boost long-term EU economic growth.

Unveiling the package of economic reforms agreed during the two-day meeting, Aznar said leaders have made progress on the strategy for growth drawn up in Lisbon in 2000.

The decisions, including the adoption of energy and financial services reforms, will provide the basis for increased long-term growth in Europe, he said after chairing the meeting.

"What we wanted to do in Barcelona was to unblock the deadlock and to make the process irreversible," he said.

European Commission president Romano agreed the package will have "a very relevant impact upon growth".

Prodi added: "It shows that Europe is still on the right track."

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