Bolkestein: Churches have no divine right to escape Union rules

Date: 03/10/02

By Peter Chapman

CHURCHES, synagogues and other places of worship cannot escape the EU's tough rules governing fairness in public contracts, according to single market chief Frits Bolkestein.

Responding to demands from MEPs for fair play, he said churches that receive most of their funding from the public purse, or are controlled by the state, must meet strict guidelines when they publish valuable contract awards. These would include, for example, the installation of a new organ or cathedral roof.

The guidelines force churches to advertise awards in the EU's Official Journal and to give the contract to the best bidder.

Bolkestein said his department was checking whether churches in Sweden, which receive government money for restoration work, and Germany, where churches are funded by a direct tax, should also be covered by the rules.

The Dutch commissioner said the state has no say over how the German tax is spent and only limited legal control over churches in the country.

But Bolkestein admitted: 'It is controversial whether such limited control may fulfil the conditions set up by the community public procurement directives.'

Churches, synagogues and other places of worship cannot escape the EU's tough rules governing fairness in public contracts, according to single market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein.