Delivering of public services in Europe: is (re-)municipalization a promising perspective?

The article draws on a cross-country and cross-policy study of the provision of public services with a focus on the U.K., France, Italy and Germany and the service sectors of energy and water provision. In pursuing a developmental (historical) approach the article, at first, identifies the institutional changes that since the 1980s have occurred, under the impact of neo-liberal policies and «marketization» concepts, from «public/municipal sector to private sector» service provision. It then raises the question whether, where and why a «comeback» of pub-lic/municipal sector provision («remunicipalizaton») has taken place. In conclusion it is argued in the article that international experience suggests that «privatization» and «(re-)municipalisation» should not be regarded as mutually excluding and contradicting each other, but, instead, as mutually complementing each other, as the private sector’s «economic rationality» emphasizes economic efficiency while the public/ municipal sector’s «political rationality» gives priority to social, ecological etc. («general interest») concerns and to political accountability.