More legal certainty for local authorities in the field of public services 12-05-2006 The president of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), Mr Delebarre, is
expected to call on the EU to launch a new directive on services of general
interest. He will do so today at the general assembly of the Council of European
Municipalities and Regions in Innsbruck.
Mr Delebarre stated that he wants a clear and understandable set of rules
that respect the rights of the key providers of services of general interest,
being the local and regional authorities. “If they are to deliver the services
which their citizens expect, local and regional authorities need legal certainty
in this area. The status quo isn’t tenable or acceptable. We need a directive
which recognises that general interest has to prevail over competition rules and
that subsidiarity matters. Local and regional authorities are not only concerned
about the debate on Europe’s public services for economic, competition or
budgetary reasons, but because they have a democratic mandate to respond”.
The CoR welcomed the modified proposal on the EU services directive, which
excludes healthcare, taxation and social services, but it stresses that
questions about the precise legal status of public services remain unanswered.
LinksSource: Committee of the Regions back |
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