Economic and Financial Reports Volume 04/2010

Public-Private Partnerships in Europe – before and during the recent financial crisis

This paper offers an updated description of the macroeconomic and sectoral significance of PPPs in Europe – without assessing PPPs from a normative perspective. Building on Blanc-Brude et al. (2007), it looks at the evolution of PPPs in the EU, with a particular focus on the recent financial crisis. In 2009, PPP transactions stood at EUR 15.8 billion; a decrease of almost 50% compared to 2007. The total value of closed deals has declined more than the number of deals. At the same time, the PPP market in Europe continues to diversify across countries and sectors. In 2008, the UK share in the total number of EU-PPPs fell below 50%. In many respects, however, the reduction in the European PPP market observed during the financial crisis can be seen as a reversal of an extraordinary spike in the years preceding the crisis.