International actors and multinational water company strategies in Europe, 1990–2003

International actors and factors, including multinational companies, have constrained and influenced local decision-making on the structure of water systems in Europe since 1990. The EU itself has exercised a major influence through environmental directives, fiscal policies associated with economic and monetary union, and internal market policies. International financial institutions have also influenced developments, especially in central and eastern Europe, through policies and conditionalities linked to loans. The multinational water companies adopted policies of expansion in selected cities throughout Europe, achieving the privatisation of water services which had previously been directly provided by public authorities. This behaviour is subject to analysis in terms of the political economy of multinational company strategies, including the relationships between these strategies and political structures and developments. The multinational companies have been the most significant international actors, but their impact has been largely through political strategies rather than through competition with rival local companies.