Forum: The Regulation of Water Services in the EU

The European Commission's proposal for a Directive on the award of concession contracts has sparked vigorous public debate and intense opposition. This Directive is controversial because of the nature of the policy it proposes and because the sectors involved are highly sensitive. This Forum examines the weaknesses of the Commission's proposal and presents an overview of the current issues in water regulation and the provision of water services. The authors analyse the regulation of natural monopolies, water efficiency and upstream competition in the water industry.

A series of articles:

+ Ralf Boscheck: Procurement, Privatisation, Principles and Presumptions. The EU's Proposed Concessions Directive and the Governance of Water Supply

+ Judith C. Clifton and Daniel Díaz-Fuentes: The European Union's Concessions Directive: A Critical Reading

+ Mark Oelmann and Christoph Czichy: Water Service Provision as a Natural Monopoly

+ Monica Alessi and Sébastien Treyer: Economic Models and Water Pricing Towards Water Efficiency

+ Janet Wright and Martin Cave: The Development of Upstream Competition in the England and Wales Water Industry

• Primary Source

Intereconomics: Archive http://archive.intereconomics.eu/years/

European Commission: RAPID: Press Release, IP/11/1580: Modernising European public procurement to support growth and employment http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-11-1580_en.htm

European Commission: Press Release, 23.01.13: Directive on Concessions will not lead to forced privatisation of water services http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/barnier/docs/news/2013/130124_water-services_en.pdf

ESO: Background information: Analytical overview of the legal framework of EU Member States regarding the awarding of concession contracts http://www.europeansources.info/record/analytical-overview-of-the-legal-framework-of-eu-member-states-regarding-the-awarding-of-concession-contracts/

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