EU Railway Policy-Making

By: Helene Dyrhauge

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Synopsis: The railways have a long tradition in Europe and the impact that they have on history is as much political as it is social or economic. National governments have traditionally had an active interest in the railways and indeed railways have become synonymous with ideas of state building and intervention. Similarly, on the supra-national level, the EU Commission sees the railways as central to the EU Transport Policy, the Single Market and Sustainable Development. It is perhaps strange then that the creation of an EU Railway Policy has been slow in the making. This book focuses on the role of the Commission in opening national railway markets and creating an EU governance structure for the railways. Indeed, the railway policy discussions and preferences are shaped by the fundamental question of whether the railways are a public service or an economic sector. The book argues that the Commission is constrained by the member states' resistance towards market opening as evident in the implementation process and demonstrates that the Commission's long term commitment has been able to advance its preferred governance system.