Liberalization of public services in Europe (GUE/NGL)

Since the 1980s, the European Union and its Member States have pursued policies to liberalize public network services (communications, energy, transport), with the gradual opening to competition of activities that were organised under national or territorial monopoly, without studying their consequences.

To fill this gap, MEPs Marie-Pierre Vieu and Marie-Christine Vergiat, and the European United Left-Nordic Green Left (GUE-NGL) Group of the European Parliament commissioned a study on three sectors (rail transport, electricity and postal services) in four Member States with different histories and situations (France, Germany, Spain and Slovakia), which could trigger some ideas for possible reforms for the coming years.