A primary objective of the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) is to facilitate the creation of an EU-Internal Energy Market to the benefit of its businesses and citizens.  Europe's national regulators of electricity and gas cooperate and share best practice not only with each other but also with fellow regulators outside of Europe, including on issues such as climate change and affordability.

The Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), established following the entry into force of the 3rd Package on 3 September 2009, has been assigned a series of tasks and responsibilities in relation to Europe’s electricity and gas markets. Being fully operational from 3 March 2011, ACER provides the regulatory framework necessary to establish an integrated European grid in electricity and gas in the interest of Europe’s consumers. CEER undertakes work which is complementary to (and not overlapping with) ACER's work.

CEER's priorities for 2012 include issues such as: smart grids and smart meters; quality of electricity supply; renewables and energy efficiency; financial services; gas storage and LNG; and retail market monitoring, continuing to strengthen our international cooperation with other regulators, including through the Mediterranean working group for electricity and gas regulation (MEDREG) and the International Confederation of Energy Regulators (ICER). In chairing ICER's Climate Change working group, CEER takes a lead role on this important issue at a global scale.

The following Working Groups prepare the CEER deliverables:

• Electricity Working Group (EWG)
• Gas Working Group (GWG)
• Customers and Retail Markets Working Group (CRM WG)
• Implementation, Benchmarking and Monitoring Working Group (IBM WG)
• Market Integrity and Transparency Working Group (MIT WG)
• International Strategy Group (ISG)

These groups are composed of technical experts from the national regulatory authorities and are supported by task forces and the Brussels-based Secretariat (see Organisational Structure). A detailed explanation of their tasks and "deliverables" can be found in the CEER 2012 Work Programme.