(AGI) Rome, Sept 15 - The Italian gas market aims to becomemore fluid and integrated with other European markets, as newsupplies become available and translate into morecompetitiveness, for the benefit of both consumers andbusinesses. This is the effect of new rules approved by theEnergy Authority at the end of an innovation process that begana few months ago, the authority announced. The Authority'sresolution 436/2015/R/GAS has approved the documents thatenable the markets of third countries to access the Italianmarket, via the Gestore Mercati Energetici (GME), thusexpanding the range of futures with physical gas delivery. Theagreement between GME and Snam has been updated, as has accessto the Virtual Exchange Point 2 (VEP). The new regulations willfavour an expanded offer of futures with deliveries to the VEPfrom the so-called third bourses' markets, which run platformsthat negotiate products physically delivered to the continent'smajor hubs. The greater fluency of the Italian market enablesthe price benchmark to become more solid and representative inthe long run, so that it may also become increasingly objectiveand structural in Italy. The update of the Snam-GME agreementand the access conditions to the VEP regulate the terms ofreference and management of information flows needed to enablethe GME to register net payments to the VEP, on behalf of thirdbourses, for transactions made on the markets these boursesmanage.. .