The table below sets out a range of types of public enterprise. Some are owned by the state - usually nationalised industries in services like telecoms or energy; some are owned by local authorities, or associations of authorities - usually providers of local services like waste management, water or district heating.

There are many variations in the precise legal status, but the key difference lies in whether they operate

• as departments or divisions within a public authority (like DSOs in UK local authorities); or
• as legally independent entities which have broadly the same legal framework as companies (plc in the UK, or S.A. in France and Spain, AG or GmbH in Germany, S.p.A. in Italy, NV in the Netherlands etc)

It is generally true that public enterprises in all European countries, whether state or municipally-owned, have been moving away from the first status - of internal division within an authority - to the second status, of independent company, even though still 100% owned by the authority. It is also becoming less common for public enterprises to have special legal status under 'public law' as opposed to 'private law'. Public authorities are still making these changes in status, for example:

• in 1997, the French government is proposing amendments to the constitution of Électricité de France (EDF) which will move it closer to company status on matters such as taxation.

• Wiener stadtwerke, the utility company of the city of Vienna, covers a wide range of services - including gas, electricity, public transport, and burials. It is also actively seeking to expand, bidding for shares in other utility companies, and planning to move into cable and telecommunications. It is not yet, however, a separate company - it is just a large department of Vienna council. There is now pressure on the council to convert the entity into a joint stock company.

The change of status from administrative department to independent company is not the same as privatisation, although it makes subsequent privatisation more possible.

Enterprises may be wholly owned or partly owned by a public authority, and the other shareholders may be investors or a corporate partner, usually a multinational. The table mentions some examples. The proportion owned by the public sector may vary (up or down), while the company remains within this broad range of enterprises which are wholly or partly publicly-owned.

At the end are companies which are wholly-owned by the private sector, and so are not public enterprises, but whose core business is providing the services typical of public utilities. It is possible for public authorities to buy back shares in these companies, and so they can be considered as an extreme end of a continuum.

Form	Public owner-ship	State	Municipal	Inter-municipal
Department, DSO, special 'public law' agency			France: régies Germany: stadtwerke Italy: aziende municipalizzate
Company	100%	Ireland: ESB	France: régies Germany: stadtwerke Italy: aziende municipalizzate Sweden: water companies	Netherlands: electricity & gas distributors
Company - with private shareholders	x %	Spain: Endesa Austria: Verbund	Italy: AMGA Germany: RWE France: sociétés économique mixtes	Denmark: electricity distributors
Company - with multinational shareholder	x %	Italy: Telecom Italia	Germany: Stadtwerke Bremen; France/Hungary: some water companies	Belgium: electricity distributors
Private company	0%	Lyonnaise des Eaux ; Generale des Eaux ; Bouygues/SAUR; RWE; BT; Thames Water; Electrabel
Others	0%	Charities and churches (healthcare); federations of self-employed (healthcare); co-ops