AJAR DOOR TO PRIVATE INTERESTS IN WATER (DRINKING WATER SUPPLY) MARKET – RARE CASE OF SLOVENIA, TRIGGERED BY THE EU PROPOSAL OF THE DIRECTIVE ON CONCESSIONS

Abstract

This article discusses a new constitutional right, a right to (drinking) water in Slovenia, especially elements of the public service for the supply of drinking water. This change of the Constitution was triggered by the 2011 proposal of the EU Directive on concession, which had proposed concessions for the supply of drinking water. A harsh reply from the wider public changes the mainstream of this idea. At the same time, it had triggered certain political sphere to think how to preserve the supply of drinking water out of the private interests. Corollary, in Slovenia, the supply of drinking water is taken out of the market, that way also from the EU internal market and the competition rules, which both might be contestable. Arguments are put forward to support the exclusion of the above services from overall water market, claiming that the supply of drinking water has certain distinctive elements from other public services, where the natural resources are not in foreground, especially where every individual is not only potential, but real end-user. The article emphasizes that the measure is more important for future generations and for our inheritors and adds supportive arguments in this respect.