Liberalisation of Water Services in Europe: Recent Developments

Presentation: Speech
Date: 21 May 2003
Location: Vienna, Austria
Speech: R. Andreas Kraemer

R. Andreas Kraemer, the Director of Ecologic Institute, presented a first assessment of recent developments concerning the potential liberalisation of water services in Europe.

Within the last months, important documents linked to the issue of liberalisation of water services in Europe have been published. These include the WRc-Ecologic study on applicability of the EU competition law in the water sector (commissioned by the DG Competition), the EU-Greenbook on services of general interest as well as the EU-Internal Market Strategy 2003-2006.

R. Andreas Kraemer presented the WRc-Ecologic study as well as a first preliminary assessment of the Greenbook and its relevance for further developments in the water sector. This activity took place in the context of the EUROMARKET project in which Ecologic is participating.

The presentation was given at a TAIEX Seminar on 21 May 2003 in Vienna, with an audience of Parliamentarians from Central and Eastern European Countries and Water Directors of EU Member States.

Download presentation [pdf, 217 kB, English]

Water and Liberalisation. European Water Scenarios

Analysis of the Environmental Implications of the Scenarios

Year 2007

Presentation:Speech

Debates and discussions are still taking place on the aims of the European Commission as regards the strengthening of competition in the water sector. The question is: What would the consequences be for the German water and wastewater sector, if water provision was to be increasingly subjected to competition, public procurement and internal market rules?

European Liberalisation Trends: Effects on the Water Sector in Germany

14 November 2005
R. Andreas Kraemer

Publication:Report

European Commission plans indicate that the water supply should no longer be subject to municipal self-administration, but instead to European competition rules, and maybe even to a mandatory tendering procedure. Such a development would have far-reaching effects on the German drinking water supply, which is characterised by strong communal influence.

Europäische Liberalisierungstendenzen: Auswirkungen auf die kommunale Wasserwirtschaft in Deutschland

Year 2005

Presentation:Speech

The Austrian Water and Waste Management Association (ÖWAV) organised the ÖWAV-Forum 2005 on "Water Sector and Politics – Structures, Controls and Financing". The aim of the conference was to discuss the future of the Austrian water sector, in particular the new legal, economic and environmental regulations. R. Andreas Kraemer presented the trends at European level and their potential effects on the municipal water sector.

Trends in the European Water Sector

21 April 2005
R. Andreas Kraemer

Presentation:Speech

The Technical University Berlin hosted the conference "Water – Economic Good, Weapon, Human Right" on 9 February 2005. Ecologic Associate Britta Pielen spoke on the recent trends towards liberalisation in European water policy and the implications for the German water sector. Over the last years, the water and sanitation sector has increasingly been put under reform pressure. In particular at the European level, a political trend towards liberalising the provision of water services can be observed. These attempts are generally justified by the supposedly positive experiences with the liberalisation of other network industries, as well as with stricter environmental and quality requirements.

European Liberalisation Tendencies – Implications for the German Water Sector

9 February 2005
Britta Ammermüller

Publication:Article

According to the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), all water bodies in the European Union should reach 'good status' by 2015. The WFD is one of the first environmental policy directives of the European Community that explicitly draws on economic considerations for achieving its ambitious objectives. By the end of 2004, an economic analysis of the importance of water uses has to be completed for each river basin district. This article summarises the present implementation status of the economic analysis in Germany and other European Member States and outlines challenges ahead for the reporting deadline 2004.

Potential noch nicht ausgereizt

Kostenaspekte der europäischen Wasserrahmenrichtlinie

Year 2004

Presentation:Speech

Eduard Interwies, Senior Economist at Ecologic, presented an assessment of the impact on the German water sector of recent developments concerning the potential liberalisation of water services at EU level.

The German Water Sector: From Liberalisation to Modernisation

24 May 2004
Eduard Interwies

Project:FP 5

The future of the water sector in Europe has been increasingly at the heart of political debates. Potential evolution of the water supply and sanitation (WSS) sector had not, however, been the subject of in-depth studies. The EUROMARKET project filled this gap by analysing a selection of scenarios for the evolution of the European WSS sector, ranging from delegation contracts to community management, and investigating their social, economic, environmental and institutional implications.

Water Liberalisation Scenarios (EUROMARKET)

Jan 2003 - Dec 2005

Publication:Report

Herbke, Nadine; Britta Pielen; Jessica Ward et al. 2004: Deliverable 7 Implications of the Different Scenarios – EUROMARKET Water Liberalisation Scenarios - Analysis of the Environmental Implications of the Scenarios. Ecologic– Institute for International and European Environmental Policy/ UNESCO-IHE – Institute for Water Education.

Analysis of the Environmental Implications of the Scenarios

Deliverable 7 Implications of the Different Scenarios

Year 2005

Organizer: European Commission, Directorate-General Enlargement, Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument (TAIEX), International
Speech: R. Andreas Kraemer
Date: 21 May 2003
Location: Vienna, Austria
Project: Water Liberalisation Scenarios (EUROMARKET)
Project ID: 1977
Keywords: Water

assessment, liberalisation, water services