Can public services be delivered properly in a competitive market?
Opening up new markets requires additional regulation to ensure that public services continue to be provided and that the consumer is not adversely affected. When applying competition law, the European Commission always takes account of the special obligations placed on any organisation benefitting from ‘monopoly rights’. This approach ensures that there is fair competition without handicapping the State-funded provider, which is obliged to provide services in the public interest even where this is not profitable.
