Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-01-13-Speech-2-017"
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"en.20040113.2.2-017"2
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"Mr President, first of all, I should like to thank the rapporteur for his considerable efforts, even though he and I are definitely not in agreement. I am, however, very pleased about the discussions to which this report has led, with their focus upon a list of important issues concerning services of general interest. It has been a refreshing political discussion, reflecting the political differences in this House.
On behalf of the Group of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party, I should like to express support for the report, as adopted by the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. For the ELDR Group, it is important to emphasise that the liberalisation already implemented by a range of sectors has generally been a great success. It has meant the creation of approximately one million new jobs and, in particular, better service for less money. At the same time, the issue of whether or not Parliament should demand a framework directive has been of crucial importance to the ELDR Group’s support for the present report. I should like to emphasise that the ELDR Group does not support a framework directive.
The purpose of a horizontal directive would be to freeze a number of areas which, as we know by experience, develop the whole time. There is absolutely no need for this at a time when we in Europe are already lagging behind with economic reforms. On the contrary, we should support further liberalisation, but on equal conditions. This must, however, take place via sectoral directives of the kind of which very successful use is already being made in a number of sectors.
In the ELDR Group, we are, as I say, convinced that it will be neither possible nor desirable in a framework directive to establish any usable definitions of services of such different kinds as are at issue in this House, at the same time bearing in mind the large regional and national differences that exist in the area of services of general interest. We recognise, however, the doubt and uncertainty to which what is termed the Altmark judgment, concerning the funding of locally based services of general interest, has led. We therefore wholeheartedly support the Commission’s reflections concerning a legal initiative to clarify this issue. Nor, as I say, do we think, however, that a framework directive would be of any help in this context. If it were a question of a legal initiative, we should, however, greatly regret the fact that the existing Treaty does not give us in the European Parliament power of codecision concerning such an initiative.
To dispel any doubt, I should like to emphasise that our opposition to a framework directive does not in any way mean that we in the ELDR group want the duty to supply certain services of general interest to disappear. On the contrary, we believe that such a duty could easily go hand in hand with liberalisation and, for example, environmental requirements, if only the political authority were to require this. Responsibility for demanding quality lies, of course, with the political authority, which must also ensure that the demands are complied with. I want us to obtain more value for money."@en1
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