Umeå University's logo

It is common practice that Swedish municipalities sell services and utilities in competition with private undertakings. For example Swedish municipalities have been engaged in driving schools, sold plants from municipal plant schools, provided real estate maintenance services to private persons and companies, and municipal public baths have also been engaged in public gyms. Commitments on these areas have earlier in large extent been reserved to private operators and the area is therefore to be denoted as the proper business community.

The fact that the municipal operators in a larger extent engage in activities on the market which by tradition have been reserved for private undertakings, when private undertakings at the same time get access to many markets which have recently have been subject to different types of liberalisations, risks creating competition problems; especially in situations when the municipal operators in various way are being favoured by their owners, the municipalities.

In this dissertation the conflicts that often occur when municipal undertakings engage in business activities are being analysed in the light of the Swedish local government act, the competition legislation and the European prohibition against state aid. The analysis focuses not only on a general approach but also on three specific areas. The areas that are treated in particular concerns municipal rental housing, municipal gym services and municipal commitments in certain service sectors, as in restaurants and conferences, including municipal tourism industry.

Moreover the analysis results in a presentation of alternative strategies on how to solve or at least mitigate the competition problems that can arise when municipal operators compete with private companies. The alternative strategies that are presented are not built solely on an analysis of the above mentioned legislation and the specific areas but it is also based on proposals put forward in earlier enquiries and in the doctrine. Moreover inspiration for the alternative strategies is found in the comparative survey that is done, where first and foremost the Danish judicial system is analysed.