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The three main objectives of the European Community's regulatory program in telecommunications are: liberalization, separation of operations andregulation and the realization of scale economies. It is the joint task of regulators and operators to create the best conditions for the fulfillment of these objectives. In the long run, liberalization and expansion of the market provide new opportunities across Europe.

In the context of deregulation in telecommunications, and at a time when American giants like IBM and AT & T are no longer prevented from competing on the European market, European countries must strengthen their level of cooperation in the telecommunications sector. In the current circumstances, only a regional realignment can enable the necessary investment to be made to acquire the industrial strength required in the face of competition. Such a realignment is also needed to provide European companies with a large enough internal European market, so that they can all acquire an international dimension to their operations. In the face of such challenges, will European telecommunications companies remain divided against each other, or will they come together in some form of cooperation? This article sketches out some possible scenarios and outlinesstrategies that could be adopted by European actors in the field of telecommunications. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)