Railway-case may put France to a sidetrack
Once again Anti-EU mood may heat up in France, because of the fact that the European Commission has requested the Fillon-government to change the status of the French railway company. The Les Echos economic newspaper has reported: the EU body wants the state-owned company to become a join-stock company.
The committee also objected in its February dated but only just now leaked letter that he railway company’s constitution contains a holistic state guarantee management, for example after loans taken by the company. According to the body this qualities for a state aid given to a profit-oriented company, which actually clashes with european rules.
All the more, the committee stated: such company can borrow money from financial markets on more favorable terms than its competitors.
According to Les Echos the French government is still firmly refuses the request of the committee, while economic analysts pointed out that the French postal privatization was preceded by a similar exchange of letters and at the end the Fillon cabinet gave in. The railway company’s situation is, however, completely different – warning experts: unions that are opposed to any kind of privatization can interfere processes which ones they don’t like. Most recently, only just raising the question about outsourcing a part of the rail freight resulted in a several days of national strike.
Les Echos says that the European Committee may will call upon the French government to end its monopoly in the suburban rail transport in 2030 instead of 2039.
If this happens, that it cannot be closed off that anti-EU mood will flare up again in France, which appeared in the referendum about constitution contract held in 2005. Back then, more than 54% of the voters supported by leftish political forces have rejected the ratification of the text.
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