The Role of State-owned Enterprises in the European Union

Abstract

We can witness the appearance of state involvement to different extents and with
different goals in each of the economic services of general interest. This new type
of intervention is aimed at controlling and limiting traditional market competi
tion. Of course, this can not only be traced back to the decision-making powers
of the Member States, but it is also the result of the organization and function
of EU institutions and their decision-making mechanisms. At the same time, the
winners of this are the individual Member States, which creates a basis for the
strengthening of national sovereignty in the integration. Member States’ room
for manoeuvre has clearly increased in the field of public services, at least in the
scope of exceptions to the general competition rules. One of the unique forms of
realization of this situation is the increase in the state ownership share and its
regulation. A particularly important question from a public financial point of
view is how state subsidies received for the provision of public services affect the
cross-financing of profitable services. At the same time, this can clearly illustrate
the differences arising from market characteristics and the success of liberaliza
tion in certain areas. The question of how the role of state-owned enterprises can
be determined within the framework of the market economy emerges prominently
in the examined EU policies. At the same time, in recent decades, the spectrum
of services where state-owned companies appear has been expanding, which
sheds new light on their purpose within the framework of a competitive economy.
From the point of view of European integration and internal market competition
regulation, it is particularly justified to reevaluate this issue and explore the
motivations inherent in the regulation.