Consolidating Neoliberalism through Privatisation: The Case of the EU after the Eurozone Crisis

Abstract

This article offers an inquiry into the increasing importance of privatisation policies in the European Union (EU). It evaluates the emphasis on international competitiveness and market efficiency to offer a comparative analysis of commodification, marketisation, liberalisation and privatisation policies in the pre- and post-crisis EU. It states that the EU introduced new mechanisms to explicitly promote privatisation policies in its member states after the Eurozone crisis. The article concludes that the EU’s lead in privatisation has functioned as a disciplinary mechanism for the member states to introduce and implement extensive privatisation policies. The EU has tended to consolidate neoliberalism through privatisation after the Eurozone crisis.

Keywords

Competitiveness, Economic Crisis, European Union, Privatisation, Neoliberalism

Citation

Sarımehmet Duman, Özgün, “Consolidating Neoliberalism through Privatisation: The Case of the EU after the Eurozone Crisis“, Uluslararasi İliskiler, Vol. 16, No. 63, 2019, pp. 105-118, DOI: 10.33458/uidergisi.621328

Affiliations

• Özgün SARIMEHMET DUMAN, Dr., Visiting Fellow, London School of Economics and Political Science, Hellenic Observatory, European Institute