Brussels, 15/05/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is unlikely to take position on the financing and regulation of public services in Europe in the green paper on "services of general interest" to be presented next week (see yesterday's EUROPE, p. 9). Christian Stoffaës, President of the French organisation ISUPE (Initiative for services of public utility in Europe), hopes that the green paper "will launch the European debate which is starting to emerge in the European Parliament, among the Unionists and at national level (…) It's opening up Pandora's box".
Having been asked by the French government to consider the regulation of large infrastructure networks at European level, he is hoping that this debate will help to clarify the role of public authorities. The State has gone from the role of direct manager of public services to that of arbitrator and regulator, he feels. At European level, "the debate raises two questions, how to define Community competencies in terms of regulation of services of an economic nature, such as the postal service or telecommunications, and how to define the competency of the authority responsible for applying the rules". He believes that the results of the green paper will show whether a Community-level independent regulator should be created, a federal-style institution, separate from the competition authority.
At a round table last week, Christian Stoffaës presented a joint report on "access to services of general interest", summarising all aspects of the subject, from territorial and social cohesion to "fundamental rights, via questions on "universal" access to other types of service, such as insurance and banking".
Anne Houtman, deputy chef de cabinet for Commission President Romano Prodi, who was responsible for preparing the green paper, took the opportunity to indicate that she still did not have a firm position on the need for horizontal legislation. "The debate should not be in terms of framework directive, the main thing is to be sure that it is a good tool. Up until now, the principles have been laid down in sectorial directives (postal services, telecommunications, etc)", she said. "A horizontal directive can only set very general principles", which means the danger that they could not be applied to all Member States: "the Netherlands do not ask the same questions as France about universal access to services in rural areas, for instance".
There are still differences of opinion within the Commission itself. In the "regional policy" directorate general, it is felt that "a horizontal tool would be useful for defining the general principles whilst allowing the States to apply these principles in terms of funding or organisation". The debate is unlikely to be concluded before the end of the consultations opened by the green paper.