I mere end et årti er Europa blevet brutalt og skånselsløst liberaliseret. Elementære ydelser som energiforsyning, dele af trafikken, uddannelse, sundhed, boliger og sygehuse overlades til markedets og profittens spilleregler, til dels direkte som følge af liberaliseringsforskrifter fra Bruxelles, til dels under pres fra EF-Domstolen, til dels også på neoliberale regeringers eget initiativ - angiveligt fordi det skaber arbejdspladser, angiveligt fordi større konkurrence giver forbrugerne lavere priser, angiveligt fordi private investorer arbejder mere effektivt.
– Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, crude and heedless deregulation has been the order of the day in Europe for a decade now, with fundamental services such as energy supply, great swathes of the transport sector, not to mention education, health, housing and hospitals being made subject to the rule of the markets and of profit, in part under the of deregulatory legislation from Brussels, in part under pressure from the ECJ, and in part on the initiative of neo-liberal governments, the claims being made that it will bring more jobs, with competition bringing lower prices for consumers and inducing private investors moving their money around more efficiently.