european court - national interest "illegal"
WORKERS, JUNE 2004 ISSUE
One year after the European Court of Justice ruled that the government's "golden share" scheme, whereby the government retained a controlling presence in privatised strategic industries, was illegal, the Department for Trade and Industry has quietly accepted the decision and rolled over.
The EU legal decision was based on the principle that the golden share and therefore inherent national interest ran counter to the principles of free movement of capital.
So a sovereign interest in the British Airports Authority (BAA) and most of the privatised water, electricity and gas companies has been dumped. The utilities had all been sold abroad anyway.