Commission activism: subsuming telecommunications and electricity under European competition law

Schmidt, Susanne K.

doi:10.1080/13501768880000081

Cited by 198 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The European Commission played a decisive role here. As early as the 1980s it had emerged as a motor for liberalization and deregulation of the infrastructure sectors (Bartle 2005, Grande 1996, Schmidt 1998, Schneider et al 1994). Based on its institutional self-interest, it had a motive to adopt and spread the new economic model, as it entailed an enormous extension of its authority and thus consolidation of its position in the institutional structure of the EU.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Europeanization and the retreat of the state

Schneider¹,

Häge²

2008

Journal of European Public Policy

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Is the state on the retreat? We examine this question through an analysis of changing patterns of government involvement in infrastructure provision, which is generally considered to be one of the primary functions of the modern state. Based on an analysis of the extent of privatization of infrastructure companies between 1970 and 2000 across twenty-six OECD countries, we find that there is indeed a general trend towards less public infrastructure provision visible in all of the countries and that the main factors associated with the extent of privatizations are EU membership and government ideology. We argue that the trend of privatizing infrastructure companies was triggered by a change of the prominent economic discourse in the 1970s and that a rightist party ideology and EU membership fostered the adoption and implementation of these ideas in domestic settings.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Europeanization and the retreat of the state

Schneider¹,

Häge²

2008

Journal of European Public Policy

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“…It is not their a priori 'degree of coercion' that matters, but the usages that are made of them, their concrete implementation and the meaning that actors attach to them. Several authors have shown that the liberalization of service sectors has resulted from the strategic and creative expansion of competition policy instruments, which were applied in contexts that previously fell outside of European intervention (Schmidt, 1998;Grossman, 2006;Woll, 2006). This creativity brings us to our second point: the movement of actors between different policy levels.…”

Section: The Political Usages Of Europementioning

confidence: 99%

Using Europe: Strategic action in multi-level politics

2010

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This article examines the importance of action-theoretical considerations in European studies. By outlining the notion of 'usage' of the European Union, we argue for a more systematically sociological consideration of strategic action in the study of European transformations. The recent turns towards constructivism and comparative political sociology allow analyzing the rationality of political actors without falling in the trap of overly reductionist rational choice assumptions. Concentrating on intentional action helps to reveal the importance of three aspects of the multi-level polity: (1) informal and non-constraining procedures; (2) the effects of ways in which actors move in between the different levels of the European political system; and (3) the ambiguous and often surprising coalitions that come together despite often considerable disagreement over their final goals.

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“…The Commission had already brought infringement procedures before the Court. Britainwelcomed the Commission's programme because it had already embarked upon liberalization (Schmidt 1998;Eising 2000).…”

Section: Selection and Definition Of Problems In The Political Arenamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A regulated transmission procedure, known as third-party access (TPA), was to guarantee access to the network. However, this proposal met with the resistance of most Member States, in particular the continental members of EURELEC-TRIC (European Grouping of Electricity Supply Industry), except for the British electricity providers (Schmidt 1998) and the user industry (Eising 2000, 213).…”

Section: Political Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Where accompanying measures are needed to facilitate liberalisation, for instance by harmonising standards, the necessary proposals can be put forward to the Council of Ministers" (Sir Benjamin Brittan, quoted in Schmidt 1998, 212). Thus, in 1991 it announced infringement procedures against the import and export monopolies in the gas and electricity sector in ten Member States (Schmidt 1998). "I will take the Member States to court, in the hope that the sector will get the message and will be prepared to enter into debate for a common policy...even if it takes time and a step by step approach to get there" (Karel Van Miert (ECE 53/15 May 1993-cited by Eising 2000.…”

Section: Political Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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