Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-07-04-Speech-1-256-000"
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"en.20110704.30.1-256-000"2
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"− Mr President, we have followed with great interest the debate in the Parliament on social services of general interest. We fully share the rapporteur’s view of the social services. We agree that the social services play an important role in terms of helping people throughout their lives and enhancing their capacity to participate in society and enjoy their fundamental rights. So the Commission agrees with the rapporteur and the House that it is vital to guarantee universal access to high-quality, accessible, affordable social services.
The Commission is aware of the concerns expressed by public authorities and service providers on the application of EU rules to social services. However, we would like to stress that EU state aid and internal market rules can help public authorities to organise and finance good quality, cost-efficient services. In addition, we believe that some of the difficulties encountered by stakeholders are due to a lack of awareness and information about how EU rules are applied. As a result, the Commission has put in place various tools over the last four years to provide more information and clarification to stakeholders, and we will of course continue to do so.
The Commission is also in the process of revisiting EU state aid and public procurement rules. In the state aid field, the Commission will ensure that the rules take due account of the specificities of the social services sector and are proportionate to the – often limited – competition distortions in this area. This initiative will be part of a more differentiated approach to state aid for public services announced by the Commission in March.
On public procurement, the Commission’s Green Paper has launched an EU-wide debate on how to increase flexibility and clarify existing rules while, at the same time, guaranteeing high-quality services. I am sure that substantial progress can be achieved in this area.
I would also like to comment on an idea which was discussed in the Third Forum on Social Services of General Interest, namely the establishment of a high-level working group involving a wide range of stakeholders: Parliament, Commission, Council, Committee of Regions, social partners and civil society organisations.
The Commission is, of course, always open to dialogue on the application of EU rules to social services, as the recent public consultation has shown. At the same time we need, of course, to ensure that such a dialogue respects the role of the various institutions as defined by the Treaties and leads to concrete results. We consider, therefore, that it would be more suitable and effective to build on existing structures; the Commission is ready to discuss in more detail how such a dialogue could be organised."@en1
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