State-Owned Enterprises in the EU: Lessons Learnt and Ways Forward in a Post-Crisis Context

State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are those companies where, for various reasons, the state exercises control. The ownership arrangements and the governance structures vary across countries and sectors. On one extreme, the government may own only a minority share and the company enjoys relative managerial and organizational autonomy; on the other side of the spectrum, companies may be fully owned by the state and follow instructions from their line Minister. SOEs often combine commercial and non-commercial objectives. Several socio-economic, political and historical reasons explain why governments have established and maintained state-owned enterprises over the past decades. However, recent experience has shown that SOEs can be an important source of concerns in at least three areas: market functioning, public finances and financial stability. The objective of this report is to analyse recent developments of SOEs in the EU, to assess past and future challenges and identify best practices with reform efforts.