Battle for Public Services tops EU agenda
Commission accused of ‘unacceptable attempt to close debate’

(9 November, 2007, Brussels) The debate to define public services at EU level has shot to the top of the EU agenda. The European Commission has been exposed in an attempt to use the new EU Reform Treaty to shut down 10 years of debate on the definition of public services. In a strongly worded letter to the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, the President of the Socialists’ Group in the European Parliament (PSE) Martin Schulz, has condemned the Commissions actions as “unacceptable”.

EPSU General Secretary Carola Fischbach-Pyttel stated that; “it is now clear that the current Commission is only paying lip-service to the value of public services”. She added that; “the Reform Treaty (Article 14) gives us a clear legal path to finally ensuring that universal services are first and foremost based on universal principles”.

The Socialist Group recently received information that the Commission was preparing to agree a “companion document” on public services which they intended to append to their forthcoming Review of the Internal Market. The publication of the review, plus public service annex, is provisionally slated for 20 November.

The central point is the interpretation of the new Article 14 (new) and protocol of the Reform Treaty (see below for outline). A broad alliance of actors (PSE;, EPSU, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the European Public Service Employers (CEEP), as well as the EU Institutions, Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, are convinced that this new provision finally gives clear legal personality to the principles upon which Public services are based. However the Commission has, with what can only be described as a wilfully one-sided interpretation of Article 14, attempted to argue the opposite, and moreover that; “it is time to conclude the debate and focus on implementation”.

This story has been given a very high profile in Brussels: http://www.europeanvoice.com/current/article.asp?id=29215

EPSU secretariat has urged all EPSU affiliates to continue campaigning for recognition of public services based on universal principles rather than market considerations. They stated that “In particular affiliates are urged to gather signatures for the ETUC petition on public services at www.petitionpublicservice.eu

For more information, please contact EPSU Press Officer Brian Synnott + 32 2 2501080 or by email epsu@epsu.org

“EPSU is the European Federation of Public Service Unions. It is the largest federation of the ETUC and comprises 8 million public service workers from over 200 Public Service Unions in 37 countries. We organise workers in health and social services, local and national administration, energy, water and waste. We are the recognised European social partner organisation in each of these sectors. EPSU is committed to building a European Union that promotes democratically accountable public services of the highest quality, within and beyond its borders."

For more information on EPSU and our work please go to: www.epsu.org


Article 14 (ex-16)
(III-122) Without prejudice to Article 4 of the Treaty on European Union and Articles 73,86 and 87, and given the place occupied by services of general economic interest in the shared values of the Union as well as their role in promoting social and territorial cohesion, the Community Union and the Member States, each within their respective powers and within the scope of application of this Treaty the Treaties, shall take care that such services operate on the basis of principles and conditions, particularly economic and financial conditions, which enable them to fulfil their missions. The European Parliament and the Council, acting by means of regulations in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, shall establish these principles and set these conditions without prejudice to the competence of Member States, in compliance with the Treaties, to provide, to commission and to fund such services.

A ‘legal base’ for legislation on this issue has been added, entailed qualified majority voting in the Council and co-decision for the European Parliament (EP).
In accordance with the IGC mandate, the draft Reform Treaty includes a Protocol addressing the role of public services in more detail.


Protocol on services of general interest
According to the conclusions of the June 2007 European Council, the following Protocol will be annexed to the Treaties: "The High Contracting Parties, Wishing to emphasise the importance of services of general interest Have agreed upon the following interpretative provisions, which shall be annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the Union: Article 1 The shared values of the Union in respect of services of general economic interest within the meaning of Article 16 EC Treaty include in particular:
* the essential role and the wide discretion of national, regional and local authorities in providing, commissioning and organizing services of general economic interest as closely as possible to the needs of the users;
* the diversity between various services of general economic interest and the differences in the needs and preferences of users that may result from different geographical, social or cultural situations;
* a high level of quality, safety and affordability, equal treatment and the promotion of universal access and of user rights; Article 2 The provisions of the Treaties do not affect in any way the competence of Member States to provide, commission and organise non-economic services of general interest.

* Letter to the President of the European Commission, Mr. José Manuel Barroso:

letter to Barroso - 300.7 kb
letter to Barroso
(PDF, 300.7 kb)









* Companion document to the final report on the single market review
Services of general interest, including social services of general interest:
a new European commitment
com SIG SSIG 2007 draft - 131.4 kb
com SIG SSIG 2007 draft
(PDF, 131.4 kb)








European Federation of Public Service Unions
Representing 217 unions - 8 million public service workers