Brussels, 21/08/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Liaison Committee on Services of General Interest (CELSIG) is organising on 19 and 20 November in Brussels, at the Economic and Social Committee, the third European Forum on services of general interest, on the theme: "Building European general interest - Services of general interest everywhere and for everyone". Work is organised in the following way:
- During the morning of 19 June, under the chairmanship of former MEP Claude Desama, work will be on the theme "Clarifying the strategy of the construction of European general interest". It will be opened by Economic and Social Committee President Göke Fredrichs. In particular, the European trade unions (ETUC) and employers (UNICE), and the president of CEEP (European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation), Joao Cravinho, will provide follow-up reports on the ESC-CEEP 2000-2001 Charter. During the afternoon, there will be discussion on the theme: "Local services of general interest and the local dimension of various services".
- On 20 June, there will be discussion chaired by Marie-Françoise Wilkinson, Vice-President of the Social NGO's Platform, on the question of "Strengthening the legal basis of the existence of services of general interest". During the afternoon, Vigilio Dastoli, from the Permanent Forum of the Civil Society, will take the chair while the Forum makes proposals for the European Council of Laeken, the next IGC and enlargement, after a debate with, on the panel, Chairman of the EP Constitutional Affairs Commission Giorgio Napolitano and rapporteurs on this theme from the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. These proposals will mainly cover the "adjustment of the current Treaties or the future Constitution" and the services of general interest as "foundations for the kind of society in the enlarged Europe", states a CELSIG press release.
(European Liaison Committee on Services of General Interest, 66 rue de Rome, 75008 Paris. Tel.: 40 42 50 24. Fax: 40 42 13 78. E-mail: celsig@noos.fr).