Contribution to the book Socio-Economic Human Rights by Iris Houben and Hetty ten Oever
Houben and Ten Oever investigate the relationship between public service obligations in EU law (PSOs) and human rights. PSOs served mainly as a correction to free market forces and did not originate from a human rights perspective.
Although the importance of access to services of general economic interest has been recognized in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, EU law does – according to the authors – not constitute an enforceable human right to get ‘access to public services’ in general. Nevertheless, PSOs could and should be used as instruments to fulfil human rights.
Houben I.S.J. & Oever H.A. ten (2017), EU Public Service Obligations and their Potential for Human Rights Protection. In: Hesselman M., Hallo de Wolf A., Toebes B. (red.) Socio-Economic Human Rights in Essential Public Services Provision. London/New York: Routledge. 123-138.
See for the introduction to the volume, table of contents etc.: https://www.routledge.com/Socio-Economic-Human-Rights-in-Essential-Public-Services-Provision/Hesselman-Wolf-Toebes/p/book/9781138669659