Ten years after the first official announcement of the intention for privatisation of the Romanian rail freight operator, the Romanian Government published the official announcement of the sale of a stake in this company, announcement which completes the list of pullbacks of the state from the railway sector, an attitude also adopted by other Balkan countries (Bulgaria, Greece). Hungary has already taken this step five years ago and has fully sold the national operator to the Austrian national operator. Discussions on the privatisations of freight operators are on the agenda of most new member states of the European Union, while neighbouring countries (Republic of Moldova, Turkey, Serbia etc.) are in different phases of reorganisation of railway undertakings aimed to align them to European standards.
Even though the reasons of Brussels representatives who promoted the concept of railway liberalisation and put pressure on the withdrawal of the “state from the operation and industrial sectors, are liberal (or social-liberal), we cannot say the same about the ideological fundaments of the Balkan stake sellers. Privatisation programmes, especially in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece, are an in-extremis reaction to the effects of the economic crisis we are crossing and to the pressures of big financial institutions of which the macro-economic stability of the country depends.
If we take a look at what happens in Bulgaria on these days of early April, we can clearly notice the lack of popular support for this solution. As the government changed due to other social problems, the street has also reminded of BDZ’s privatisation and has asked the stop of the process for re-evaluation by the new government. All these in a context where the situation of the operator is very difficult and only a clear-cut intervention can ensure its presence in the market.
In Romania, the liberal minister of transport, who officially launched the sale announcement, has repeatedly said since the beginning of the year that he didn’t want the privatisation of the operator and only accepted the sale after the meetings with Troika. Even the privatisation strategy (and I don’t refer to the document, but to the actual actions) shows that the procedure is against the will of coordinators from the Ministry of Transport, and not only. In full privatisation process, the importance of re-establishing a holding is still debated on, and the dimension of the package of shares proposed for sale has varied from 20% to 100% and then to a final 51%. Although competition authorities have conditioned the sale of CFR Marfa with the outsourcing of certain activities, procedures are pending and the legal necessary steps have not been taken yet since the autumn of 2012. The access of private capital to other countries in the structure of Balkan operators will trigger the reorganisation of companies and their resettlement in the market. Integrated in the activity of large western operators and in that of some eastern operators, new operators will force Balkan countries to re-evaluate their relation with the rail market shifting to a real system of economic operators from that of railway managers.
And still the question lingers: Will the Balkans really sell their assets?
by Ştefan Roşeanu
Share on:
