"Building on research on ten European Union Member States, this article assesses the role of the EU as a driver of privatisation processes in five infrastructure sectors – telecommunications, postal services, railway transport, and energy and water services. Despite national path dependencies – such as economic structures, legal traditions and social forces – the EU is becoming increasingly influential in implementing a specific European regulatory model and thus is generating an emerging European infrastructure market. In spite of their success as global players, the new infrastructure transnational corporations have failed to deliver properly functioning services and to provide decent working conditions. Although political will on the European level to continue the liberalisation process stands firm, conflicts between national governments and the European Commission as well as an increasing Europeanisation of local and national social protests could undermine this consensus."

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