Brussels, 12/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - The Socialist Group at the European Parliament unanimously adopted the report by Belgian national Claude Desama on the services of general interest. Recalling that the European Commission has published an updated version of its communication of September 1996 on public services, the report stresses that one cannot affirm that the Commission is moving away from the philosophy essentially based on the notion of competition that it has always upheld. Mr Desama considers as a "particularly negative harbinger the draft directive on postal services which bears witness to an excessively liberal approach to the question, characteristic of the Commissioner responsible for this issue (Ed.: Frits Bolkestein)". He went on to add: "Similar concerns are expressed regarding public transport where the proposals known to the Commission are difficult to accept".
The Socialist Group hopes the Parliament will play a driving role in the re-direction of the European public service policy, in cooperation with the Council, during which, specifies the Desama Report, several governments show growing reticence to the "experiment", the project on postal services. It takes a stance in favour of drawing up a framework directive on services of general interest.