Jerry van den Berge (NL, 1966) is an independent researcher focusing on the relations between Water Governance and Social Justice. He has recently finished his research project about Social movements’ struggles against privatisation of water services in Europe. Before, he was policy officer in the European Public Services Unions (EPSU) in Brussels where he coordinated the first successful European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI): “Water is a human right!” a.k.a. “Right2Water”.
Privatization of water (services and resources) increases inequality and injustice in society. By exploiting water, private companies make huge profits while people are confronted with higher prices, deteriorating environment, and loss of livelihoods. This must be stopped if we are serious about saying: “Water is a human right!” Water is even more than that: “Water is a public good, not a commodity!”
“Water is a public good, not a commodity!”: Social movements’ struggles and strategies against privatization of water services in Europe
Problems with and struggles against privatization of water services are often linked to the global South, but do occur in Europe too. In 2013 a new social movement (“Right2Water”) stood up that challenged European single market policies and used the tool of a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) to “implement the human right to water and sanitation” in European law. It aimed to put an end to privatization of public water services that was promoted by the European Commission. It campaigned across the European Union and achieved 1.9 million signatures, making it the first ever successful ECI. The movement put water on top of the agenda and prevented local and municipal water services from being opened for EU-wide competition. However, results varied greatly per country. To find out how and why the Right2Water movement rose in some countries and stumbled in others, I investigated three national cases: Greece, Spain and The Netherlands, next to an overall study of the struggle in Europe.
PhD thesis, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands (2024)
With references, with summary in English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18174/662007 DOWNLOAD HERE AS PDF
