The Railways at the Crossroads of Liberalisation and Public Service

26 The Railways at the Crossroads of Liberalisation and Public Service EPPPL 1|2009 I. Introduction The liberalisation process of state monopolies such as in the energy, postal, telecommunication or transport sectors (also often called “network industries”), 1 under European impetus, has been part of a wider debate around the liberal tone of European actions.2 It is true that a tension exists between liberalisation and public service objectives.3 It is feared that the introduction of competition in those sectors will obstruct the performance of services of general economic interest (hereafter, “SGEIs”).4 Indeed, competition might be detrimental to the consumer and to the provision of...