01/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 28 January, the European Commission launched an interactive service designed to answer questions of stakeholders on the services of general interest (SGI). This service, which was announced in a press release of 29 November last year, came in for strong criticism in a report presented by the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the Economic and Social Committee on the social services of general interest (SSGI) (EUROPE 9589). “I find this procedure almost insulting”, commented the French member Jean-Louis Destans, rapporteur on the SSGI dossier for the CoR. In response to Mr Destans, Concetta Cultera, of the Directorate General for Employment and Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, asked for the system to be given time to work. She also stated that the questions raised would soon be added to the “frequently asked questions” section of the site. In order to consult the service, please see: http: //ec.europa.eu/service_general_interest/index_fr.htm. (L.B.S)