Each TSO should be required to prepare an individual grid model of its system and send it to TSOs responsible for merging them into a common grid model. The individual grid models should include information from generation and load units.

30. Highlights that the shared electricity market between Austria and Germany is furthering the implementation of an integrated European energy market; acknowledges that the common bidding zone – which was introduced in 2002 – means that the wholesale electricity prices in these two countries are the same, and ensures unlimited electricity trading and security of supply of almost 100 %; notes that the Austrian-German bidding zone is the only relatively large zone in Europe shared by two countries; notes that larger bidding zones support the necessary characteristics of a well-functioning and liquid electricity market, qualified to red ...[+++]uce trading costs, to provide resilient price signals for investment decisions and to foster more competition; calls for a rapid development of grids to allow the integration of renewable energy in the electricity market, and to guarantee grid stability, especially in southern Germany; calls for the retention of this success model and an enlargement of the bidding zone;

60. Stresses that a properly designed future model of the electricity market in the EU is urgently needed and must aim at promoting the necessary investment to guarantee supply in the long term and at a more market-based and – from the point of view of network security – optimised integration of renewable energy sources, while fully taking into account the changing nature of energy supply and demand, including the increased uptake of micro-generation, demand-response technology and the increasing share of renewable energy; notes, in this regard, the need for common standards ...[+++] for smart grids as a key element for ensuring a stable supply and free flow of energy across borders, thus contributing to energy security; furthermore highlights the role that developing smarter energy grids and new energy storage facilities can play in increasing the level of renewable energy sources (RES) on a European scale and ensuring that such infrastructure is developed in conjunction with regional RES hubs;

58. Stresses that a properly designed future model of the electricity market in the EU is urgently needed and must aim at promoting the necessary investment to guarantee supply in the long term and at a more market-based and – from the point of view of network security – optimised integration of renewable energy sources, while fully taking into account the changing nature of energy supply and demand, including the increased uptake of micro-generation, demand-response technology and the increasing share of renewable energy; notes, in this regard, the need for common standards ...[+++] for smart grids as a key element for ensuring a stable supply and free flow of energy across borders, thus contributing to energy security; furthermore highlights the role that developing smarter energy grids and new energy storage facilities can play in increasing the level of renewable energy sources (RES) on a European scale and ensuring that such infrastructure is developed in conjunction with regional RES hubs;

15. Welcomes the Commission’s goal of being at the forefront of the digital revolution; stresses, however, that the internet is not merely an instrument to enforce the single market strategy; highlights that digitalisation has changed the whole of society – how it produces, to communicates, lives and governs – and all sectors from smart grid energy systems to the healthcare system; emphasises that the digital revolution is also a cultural and political issue regarding how digitalisation can bring about a new democratic model based on knowledge- ...[+++]sharing and inclusion, rather than it being reduced to an issue of economic infrastructure, power and manipulation; strongly believes that net neutrality, data protection and a common system for copyrights and intellectual property rights should be the main focal points in order to make the digital revolution a democratic revolution;