Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-02-21-Speech-1-177"
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"en.20050221.17.1-177"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, one of the main problems encountered when applying European legislation on State aid to the provision of services of general interest is legal certainty, or rather legal uncertainty. It has not always been obvious to decision-makers in local authorities at city, municipality or district level whether compensation for special expenses connected with these services comes within the scope of State aid regulations.
The dilemma these decision-makers face is whether these payments have to be declared to the Commission or approved by it. There are serious legal consequences if compensation is not declared when it should have been, yet if declarations are submitted unnecessarily in cases of doubt valuable time is lost during this procedure. Steps will now be taken to reduce this legal uncertainty, and this is something I wholeheartedly welcome and support.
As has already been mentioned, the ruling by the European Court of Justice on the Altmark case is the legal basis that the Commission has used to put forward its proposal for an exemption decision. This proposal complies with the demand Parliament made in its resolution of 14 January 2004 on the Green Paper on services of general interest, and it is a sign that support exists for a control policy that focuses on cases that are key to effective competition in the internal market. Under this proposal, compensation that only has a very minor impact on the internal market will be exempt from State aid control procedures, which will mean a great deal more legal certainty for local stakeholders.
Compensation for services of general economic interest that have only a minor impact on the internal market is frequently granted on a strictly limited and local basis, and is therefore a good example of an instance where exemption would be decided on. Provided that other criteria are complied with, such as providing a clear statement of responsibilities and adherence to the principle of transparency, such compensation will also benefit from the planned increase in legal certainty.
The rapporteur has submitted an outstanding report, and ensured that it expressed the majority view by putting it to a vote in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. I hope that the House as a whole will view it in the same way."@en1
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