Challenges of privatisation in European Union gas

Privatisation has become a central focus of the industrial policies of many of the member states of the European countries. Some estimates claim that as much as Pound 100 billion of state owned enterprises will be sold off in the near future. The UK appears to have led the way in a European Union movement to privatise most of the remaining state-owned concerns including some of the state-owned energy concerns. The UK has gone one step further in privatising its energy utilities, including the gas and electricity industries. There is now considerable discussion on the potential for privatisation of the state-owned utilities in other European Union (EU) Member States' including the natural gas utilities. (Author)