06/08/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 5 August, the European Commission launched a public consultation exercise on European rules for concession contracts. These contracts are agreements with public authorities and private operators with a view to providing and exploiting an infrastructure, such as an airport, or a service, such as water distribution to the public. Such contracts are significant as they are increasingly being used by public authorities at all levels. The aim of the consultation is to collect further views and expertise on how the current EU rules on concessions work in practice and how they might need to be improved to further enhance transparency, to ensure equal opportunities for potential bidders. The results of the consultation will feed into an impact assessment that the Commission is currently preparing for the end of 2010, which will accompany new initiatives in this field. The consultation is open until 30 September and is available at: http: //ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/2010/concessions_en.htm.