Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-12-19-Speech-4-025"
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"en.20021219.2.4-025"2
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"Mr President, I welcome the fact that we are debating services of general interest once again, on the occasion of the Commission’s statement. I believe that services of general interest are at the heart of European integration, or rather that they ought to be.
Although their place and role in the Union are indeed recognised, in principle, in Article 16 of the Treaty, they are still subject to competition rules, with all the ensuing consequences. There has been growing pressure for faster liberalisation in many sectors. The Brussels European Summit, last March, was a decisive moment in this sense, moreover. Energy, transport, a new era for the postal services sector: the recurring argument is that liberalisation would be the solution to the need to modernise these services. This is not true, as we can see from numerous examples. I believe that one of the functions of services of general interest is to ensure social and territorial cohesion. They must guarantee access to high quality services for all citizens throughout the whole of the territory and at the same price. However, the rules of profitability and the principle of competition run counter to these objectives and these functions.
The citizens’ needs as regards high quality European public services are currently being expressed in many Union countries. The drawing-up of common European rules allowing harmonisation from the top downwards has become a necessity, particularly in view of enlargement. The modernisation of services of general interest must be part of a measure not seeking to open up the market to competition but intended to respond to the needs expressed. That requires genuine democratisation and the genuine participation of workers and users in the development of these services. In this connection, the European Union has a particular responsibility. It must, first of all, allow a proper evaluation to be carried out of the different liberalisation processes, country by country. Despite calls from the European Parliament on a number of occasions, this evaluation of the consequences for safety, the environment, quality and social concerns has never been carried out. Why?
I too believe that we cannot wait for a Green Paper to be drawn up in a few months’ time to address this issue, however useful a Green Paper might be. Although a Green Paper might serve some purpose, I feel that services of general interest should no longer be seen as an exception to competition as they have been hitherto but, quite the opposite, that they must be seen as one of the European Union’s priority responsibilities. They must therefore no longer be subject to competition. Work is being carried out on a new Treaty within the framework of the work of the Convention with a view to the 2004 Intergovernmental Conference. We must address this issue in the debate on the Treaty. It is time to listen to the demands of the citizens, of the trade unions, which are demonstrating everywhere in a plea for high quality services. These demands go hand in hand with the need for a Europe of social progress, a more democratic Europe. That is why we cannot be content with a minimal definition of a European universal service. We must be ambitious for social Europe. We must place services of general interest at the centre of European integration and European citizenship."@en1
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