Brussels, 22/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - In a press release published on 19 October, the president of the EP Public Services Intergroup, the French Socialist, Françoise Castex, called on the European Commission, “to clarify once and for all” its position on services of general economic interest a (SGEI) and establish “a clear legal framework” which will help “enhance legal security in this field” and definitively remove any misapprehensions about its motive to “challenge the long-term future of public services”. The French MEP was responding to the polemic triggered by Marc Tarabella (S&D, Belgium), according to which the Commission had suggested opening up the compulsory social security services to competition through renewed calls for tender. This would subsequently open up the market to private insurers (EUROPE 10713). The two draft directives in question review the award of public procurement contracts in December 2011. These are currently being examined by the appropriate EP committees, whose vote in its plenary session is planned in November. These texts will include the way in which compulsory social security and social services could be subject to competitive tender. The Commission has denied seeking to undermine the national remit for organising these services or wishing to open up the social security market to the private sector. Nonetheless, on the Internet Politis site, the spokesperson for Commissioner Barnier (internal market) admitted that she wanted to give member states the opportunity if they so wished to, “contract-out certain social security services”. She added that, “if a member state wants to organise Social Security through a public market contract… it will, in this precise instance, have to have the necessary legal instruments to ensure respect for the rules of good governance, transparency and fairness in the choice of the private contractor”. There are fears about this Commission orientation because some see it as a means to introduce wide-scale privatisation of the Social Security system. (FG/trans/fl)