Brussels, 28/06/2004 (Agence Europe) - Prices fell by 1% for airline tickets, remained unchanged for telecoms and rose by 4.4% for gas and 3.8% for road transport, according to the Commission's first report on network services of general economic interest (SGEI). According to a Eurobarometer poll published the same day, consumers are unhappy at landline and mobile phone prices and post services have lost their good image. In a Communication published on Monday, however, the Commission insists that 'opening to competition improves performance, cuts prices and ensures quality'. Asked by reporters on Monday about the Commission's impartiality, the officials who wrote the report explained that had worked with the only data available and felt it was important to convey the benefits of liberalisation, which often have a bad press. The report will be published on the Commission's website (http: //europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/fr/update/economicreform/index.htm).
Network services: opening to competition improves performance, cuts prices and ensures quality
. The report shows that the impact of opening up SGEI to competition has been positive and has, in real terms, reduced prices to end users, who generally support the introduction of competition. However, in some Member States delays in market opening and in removing legal and technical barriers to new entrants have held performance back. Service providers are continuing to meet or exceed their universal service obligations and access to services at affordable prices for the less well off is also improving, albeit unevenly.
The report uses a technique developed in 2002 and covers electricity, gas, telecommunications, postal services, air, road and rail transport in the 15 “old” Member States. New Member States will be covered in future reports starting in 2005.
The performance of network services of general economic interest (SGEI) in terms of prices, employment, productivity, service quality, affordability, accessibility and consumer satisfaction is good and improving, although there are wide variations between sectors and between Member States, according to the report. Prices rose 2.4% in Belgium, while the Irish complain about high roaming costs. Consumer dissatisfaction focuses on lack of price transparency, leading to growing frustration and increased suspicion about price fixing, notes the report. Nearly a third of European consumers have make use of the option of changing service supplier for long-distance and international calls.
For transport, airline ticket prices fell 7% in Finland, the UK, Austria and Belgium, with low cost airlines improving regional services, although regional airports still have to be integrated into the global transport network system. Figures on frequency and delays show that much remains to be done in many Member States. Consumer dissatisfaction is focussed on rail services, with Dutch passengers complaining the most about the quality of domestic rail services.
Provision of post services is still quite dense, despite a reduction in coverage for isolated areas and consumers seem to be satisfied with frequency. Little data is available, but postal services seem to be less satisfactory in Greece, Spain and France than elsewhere in the EU as far as domestic post is concerned.
Gas is the sector where opening to competition is least perceptible. The report notes that affordability has decreased in half of Member States (the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, France and Belgium). The Commission puts this down to the increase in the share of gas on the global market. The affordable nature of electricity has declined in the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. No significant improvements were reported in terms of reliability of supply or environmentally-friendly electricity generation.
The Commission also looked at employment, which decreased from 8.8 million in 1991 to 7.9 million in 1999, but then rose to 8.2 million in 2001 across network services as a whole. Employment rose 6.8% in telecoms and post, but fell 14% in electricity, gas and water. Productivity rises reported since the markets were opened were basically due to reductions in the workforce. No significant impact of the reforms could be noted in terms of increased productivity at work, notes the report.
The Commission also considered the social accessibility of services, commenting that very few Member States provide special prices for vulnerable consumers, and even fewer provide free services for the vulnerable.