| Author (Person) | Spinant, Dana |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.11, No.14, 14.4.05 |
| Publication Date | 14/04/2005 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Dana Spinant Date: 14/04/05 The EU constitution would help protect public services, according to German centre-left MEP Bernhard Rapkay, whose report on services of general interest will be discussed by deputies before the summer. Fears that a proposed directive on liberalising services across the Union would harm public services have provoked hostility to the EU constitution in France. But Rapkay said: "The constitution brings a clear legal basis for the EU to adopt legislation on services of general interest and it gives it the instruments to do so." Once the constitution entered into force, the EU would have to adopt a legal framework for services of general interest. Healthcare and social services would typically be considered as services of general interest, he said. According to Article III-122, "given the place occupied by services of general economic interest…the Union and the member states shall take care that such services operate on the basis of principles and conditions, in particular economic and financial, which enable them to fulfil their missions. European laws shall establish these principles and set these conditions." Rapkay said that the constitution would thus redress the balance in favour of protecting services of general interest across the Union, in the context of a necessary liberalisation of services. "The services directive was proposed on the basis of the Nice Treaty, not on the basis of the constitution. But the constitution could bring a balance," he said. Rapkay's report will suggest that the EU needs "a legal framework" for services of general interest. But he believes that given the different traditions in member states on services of general interests (SGIs), it would be difficult to come up with an EU definition of what constitute SGIs. Instead, he favours a legal framework outlining criteria for such services. It should be for regional or national authorities to define what constitutes a service of general interest, he added. But he insisted that a "horizontal directive" covering services of general interest across the board would not be necessary. He noted that the Commission has at present "no interest" in making a proposal on services of general interest, but if the constitution entered into force, it would be expected to do so. Rapkay said that the liberalisation of services was inextricably linked to the debate on services of general interest. France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg, which strongly oppose the services directive, are demanding a proposal on SGIs. The Party of European Socialists will try to "build up political pressure" in favour of a European Commission proposal on SGIs, he said. Guy Verhofstadt, the Belgian prime minister, says that a proposal on services of general interest would make the services directive easier to swallow. "We could go much further on the liberalisation of services if we had a proposal on services of general interest on the table, because we would have a balance between the two," he told European Voice. "That would be the best approach. I believe that if we had both on them on the table, we would inflict less damage to the services directive," he said. Although Verhofstadt is a Liberal, his coalition partners have been strongly critical of the Commission's proposal to liberalise services. A Parliamentary report to be presented next week (19 April) will argue that the services directive should not apply to services of general interest. The rapporteur for the internal market committee, German centre-left MEP Evelyne Gebhardt, concluded that the directive should not apply to "services of general interest performed by member states in fulfilment of their general interest obligations to services". The French will vote in a referendum on the constitution on 29 May. Anticipation of a European Parliament report on services of general interest, drafted by German centre-left MEP Bernhard Rapkay and to be discussed before summer 2005. According to the rapporteur the EU constitution would help protect public services. Another Parliamentary report, drafted by German centre-left MEP Evelyne Gebhardt for the Internal Market Committee and to be presented on 19 April 2005, argued that the services directive should not apply to services of general interest. |
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| Subject Categories | Internal Markets |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
