Int. J. Global Energy Issues, Vol. x, No. x, xxxx 1 Copyright © 200x Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. The relevance of cross-border transmission capacities for competition in the continental European electricity market Reinhard Haas*, Hans Auer and Thomas Faber Energy Economics Goup (EEG), Vienna University of Technology A-1040 Vienna, Austria Fax: (+43)1-58801-37397 E-mail: haas@eeg.tuwien.ac.at *Corresponding author. Erich Wagner Energieallianz Austria Gmbh, A-1100 Vienna, Austria Fax: (+43)1-90410-13910 E-mail: Erich.Wagner@energieallianz.at Abstract: Competition in the European electricity markets is stagnating. To intensify cross-border competition, many experts and publications by the European Commission and other European organisations call for extensions of cross-border transmission lines. Yet, the arguments for conducting these investments are poor. The core objective of this paper is to analyse the relevance of cross-border transmission lines for competition in an integrated Continental European electricity market and to discuss future options for enhancing competition. Keywords: Central Europe; competition; cross-border trade; electricity market; transmission capacity. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Haas, R., Auer, H., Faber, T. and Wagner, E. (xxxx) ‘The relevance of cross-border transmission capacities for competition in the continental European electricity market’, Int. J. Global Energy Issues, Vol. x, No. x, pp.xx–xx. Biographical notes: Reinhard Haas is an Associate Professor at Energy Economics Group (EEG) at the Vienna University of Technology, Austria. He holds a PhD in Energy Economics and a MSc degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Vienna University of Technology. He has more than 15 years experience in electricity market analyses, energy modelling and RES-E policy design. In recent years, he has coordinated many international research projects. He has also published more than 50 peer reviewed scientific papers. Hans Auer is an Assistant Professor at Energy Economics Group (EEG) at Vienna University of Technology, Austria. He holds a PhD in Energy Economics and a MSc degree in Electrical Engineering from the Vienna University of Technology. His main research interests are electricity market restructuring analyses, in general, and economic aspects of grid regulation and