Strasbourg, 25/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - The adoption of the report by Dutch Democratie 666 MEP Sophia in'tVeld on state aid in the form of compensation for public services has sparked strong reaction from the Left of the European Parliament (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.14). Not only French, but also Belgian Socialists voted against the report. French Socialist Gilles Savary slammed the total vacuity of the vote and called for a strong political initiative to draw up a framework directive on public services and end the European Commission's 'impressionist policy' in this area. In a press release, Belgian Socialists criticised excess red tape in the adopted text which they claim will paralyse vital services for citizens. They join the French in calling for a new framework directive on public services. On the Greens/EFA group, French MEP Alain Lipietz comments in a press release that the European Parliament on its own initiative decided to consider a decision by the European Commission. Excellent, he says, because this means acting ahead of the Constitutional Treaty, but alas, the European Parliament today is so far to the Right that it has adopted a report even more to the right than the European Commission itself, going as far as saying that public funding of hospitals and subsidised housing could damage competition. Luckily this vote has no importance since under the current Treaty, the European Parliament has no decision-making powers, he added.
UMP MEP Alain Lamassoure (EPP-ED) takes the opposing view that the plenary expressed ideas in line with the 'French vision' of public services. In a press release, he says that in the in'tVeld Report, the European Parliament urged the Commission to exclude public services from normal competition law, acknowledging that public services may also be able to benefit from financial support from local authorities, in the interest of users. Lamassoure says the vote in favour was achieved with the contribution of the EPP-ED, ALDE and more than two-thirds of the Socialist MEPs present for the vote.