Bringing Technical Systems Back In: Towards a New European Model of Regulating the Network Industries

This paper discusses and confirms Prof. Giandomenico Majone’s argument that there is a European regulatory model emerging. It crystallizes the underlying forces which head to this model and describes its main defining features, which are structured around sector-specific regulation. However, the paper also notes that this European model of regulating the network industries appears to be increasingly at odds with the technical and systemic evolution of the network industries. In conclusion the paper therefore highlights three possible future evolutions of regulating the network industries in Europe, namely European regulators, self-regulation by market operators, and nationally differentiated regulation.