Leipzig Declaration on "Services of General Interest"

Leipzig, 4 April 2003

Services of General Interest are most important for local and regional government but are not part of the EC Treaty. The concept of Services of General Economic Interest was introduced into the European Treaties by the Treaty of Amsterdam, but in a way that has left ambiguities as to interpretation (the term is not actually defined) and without specific reference to local and regional services.  

CEMR, EUROCITIES and Deutscher Staedtetag,

having regard to the EC Treaty, in particular Article 16 and 86 thereof relating to services of General Economic Interest, and to the European Commission’s Green Paper on Services of General Interest which is being in preparation,

A.  Considering the importance of the European social model, territorial cohesion and social inclusion in achieving the objectives set out for the European Union in its Treaties,

B.  Considering the role of local and regional government in ensuring social inclusion and territorial cohesion and in contributing to the protection of the environment,

C.  Recalling that local and regional governments across the European Union are responsible for delivering a substantial proportion of services of general interest for the benefit of their citizens,

D.  Emphasising subsidiarity and local self-administration as a basis of European welfare, development and democracy,

E.  Considering that services of general interest should be of a high quality, be accessible to all citizens and be as cost effective as possible,

F.  Emphasising the role of local and regional government in providing comprehensive services of general interest, including services of general economic interest to the citizens

1.  Are committed to the provision of high quality services of general interest for all citizens, particularly the disadvantaged,

2.  Assert that, in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, the choice as to the form of provision for local and regional services of general interest, including whether or not to tender out, is best made at the local and regional level,

3.  Stress that although competitive tendering according to EU rules can be an effective tool for the delivery of local and regional services, EU competition and internal market rules should not apply when a service is provided “In-House”,

4.  Believe that State Aid rules should not apply to compensation offered by local and regional government for the provision of services of general interest, where the amount is reasonably commensurate with the purpose of the assistance,

5.  Call upon the European Convention and the Inter-Governmental Conference to ensure that the future constitutional Treaty takes account of the above concerns and includes the promotion of high quality services as one of the objectives of the Union,

6.  Call upon the European Institutions, and the European Commission in particular, to respect subsidiarity, local self-government, and the promotion of services of general interest at local and regional level,

7.  Call upon the European Commission to support a more balanced integration of social factors and environmental concerns - as called for in particular by Article 6 of the European Treaty – into internal market and competition policy,

8.  Accordingly, call upon the European Institutions not to proceed with the compulsory  application of internal market and competition rules to local and regional public transport, nor to extend European-wide internal market and competition proposals to other local and regional services of general interest,

9.  Call upon the Commission to clarify the rules on state aids and competition in relation to services of general interest delivered at the local and regional level,

10. Welcome the intention of the European Commission to publish a Green paper an Public/private Partnerships, so as to improve legal certainty especially as regards tendering out,

11. Call upon the European Commission and the Member States to ensure that the GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) does not impact on local and regional services of general interest.

12. Call for the final version of the Green paper on Services of General Interest to reflect the above concerns.