EU state aid rules on services of general economic interest
ECOS-V/020
EU state aid rules on services of general economic interest
THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS:
- is pleased that the European Commission is on the same wavelength as the CoR proposal that a distinction be made between: 1) situations where de minimis public service compensation does not affect intra-Community trade; 2) compensation granted to local and social public services that exceeds the de minimis thresholds but which, because of the way these services are organised and the current state of internal market development, does not affect intra-Community trade; and 3) compensation granted to other EU or cross-border public services governed by sectoral directives or regulations;
- requests once again that the threshold be raised to EUR 800 000 per year;
- calls on the Commission not to include the local authority population criterion among the conditions for applying the new de minimis regulation;
- opposes the introduction by the Commission of an assessment of economic efficiency in SGEI compensation; in the Committee's view, neither Article 106 nor a unilateral decision or directive from the Commission, on the basis of paragraph 3 thereof, provide sufficient legal basis for any such legislative proposal. The remit of the Commission, in its capacity as European competition authority, by no means extends to the conditions for the efficient allocation of public resources by Member States' public authorities.
- is pleased that the European Commission is on the same wavelength as the CoR proposal that a distinction be made between: 1) situations where de minimis public service compensation does not affect intra-Community trade; 2) compensation granted to local and social public services that exceeds the de minimis thresholds but which, because of the way these services are organised and the current state of internal market development, does not affect intra-Community trade; and 3) compensation granted to other EU or cross-border public services governed by sectoral directives or regulations;
- requests once again that the threshold be raised to EUR 800 000 per year;
- calls on the Commission not to include the local authority population criterion among the conditions for applying the new de minimis regulation;
- opposes the introduction by the Commission of an assessment of economic efficiency in SGEI compensation; in the Committee's view, neither Article 106 nor a unilateral decision or directive from the Commission, on the basis of paragraph 3 thereof, provide sufficient legal basis for any such legislative proposal. The remit of the Commission, in its capacity as European competition authority, by no means extends to the conditions for the efficient allocation of public resources by Member States' public authorities.
