Protectionism in Europe's energy sector

The Hungarian oil and gas company MOL is trying to fend off a potential takeover by Austrian state-owned giant OMV. The Hungarian government is helping MOL to buy back its own shares. László Varró writes that in this particular case protectionism is justified. "The takeover of MOL by OMV would be anti-liberal because a state-owned company would be taking over a private company. A market structure based on free competition would thus be monopolised. Hungary's modernisation and energy security would suffer as a result. In Hungary we often hear that it's against European practice for politics to prevent a takeover, but even Margaret Thatcher, the figurehead for conservative fans of the free market, used her veto power to prevent BP being taken over by a state-owned company from Kuwait."

» full article (external link, Hungarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Energy, » Hungary, » Austria
All available articles from » László Varró

» To the complete press review of Friday, July 13, 2007