A3-0254/94

Resolution on public undertakings, privatization and public services in the European Community

The European Parliament,

-having regard to its resolution of 12 February 1993 on the role of the public sector in the completion of the internal market,

-having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

-having regard to the outcome of the hearing on public enterprises, held by the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy on 27 April 1993,

-having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee of 22 September 1993 on the role of the public sector in the internal market,

-having regard to the results of the workshop of 17 March 1994, organized by STOA in collaboration with Parliament's DG IV, at the request of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on the consequences of privatization policy for research and innovation,

-having regard to the results of the preliminary study of February 1994 drawn up by Parliament's DG IV, at the request of the Committee on Economic Affairs, on the subject of public undertakings and public service obligations in the Community,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy (A3-0254/94),

A.whereas, in Europe, public undertakings are by nature intended to guarantee that the necessary steps are taken towards the harmonious development of the economy and society, in so far as they contribute towards achieving the objectives pursued by the government in the general interest,

B.whereas the importance of this role can be seen in particular in the current phase of serious economic difficulties and unemployment, in an effort to tackle which the European Union has adopted (in accordance with the Edinburgh and Copenhagen Summits and the White Paper on Growth and Employment) an approach to the economy which requires specific operational instruments,

C.whereas, however, this important role must necessarily go hand in hand with the pursuit of economic recovery and the drive for greater efficiency in public undertakings,

D.whereas it is necessary to distinguish, from both the legal and economic points of view, between public manufacturing undertakings and public undertakings which run public services at local or national level, since the former meet rather the demands of economic development and the latter meet needs for public services, but bearing in mind that both contribute to the pursuit of general interests,

E.whereas over the last few years Europe has witnessed a qualitatively and quantitatively extremely important phenomenon of privatization of public undertakings, which has taken different forms and had different purposes in the various Member States, but the results of this phenomenon have not yet been officially assessed and studied by the Union's institutions,

1.Recognizes in general the importance of the principles of private investment, financial transparency, compulsory contractual procedures and privatization, but considers that they are defined and implemented too rigidly and sometimes with a certain degree of prejudice, with the result that support is given to a generalized process of privatization and a tightening of legal obligations on public undertakings, often causing negative reactions;

2.Considers, however, that in privatization processes sufficient thought must be given to their impact on society and employment and the possible adverse effects on sensitive sectors, and that the most appropriate steps must be taken to ensure that scientific research continues, such as for example the establishment of research foundations involving the privatized undertakings, with public sector participation where appropriate;

3.Considers furthermore that these privatization processes must be accompanied by a well-defined industrial policy and by state regulation, especially where public services are involved;

4.Considers that the negative effects on the economy and the inability to ease the situation are contributory factors in the current functional problems inherent in the market and the operational problems which are sometimes encountered in public undertakings. In fact, the way private enterprise operates prevents it from pursuing the strategic objectives of the system overall (infrastructure, research and innovation, cohesion, the protection of essential sectors, widespread services) and the public sector tends towards oversized structures and both financial and productive inefficiency (the ratio between costs and the quality of goods and services);

5.Considers therefore that an approach which gives rise to a constant conflict between these two equally essential elements of the economy merely aggravates their respective deficiencies, whilst they need to be harmoniously integrated; therefore backs the proposal to promote all possible forms of collaboration between the public and private sectors;

6.Calls on the Commission to submit a communication on public undertakings in the economy of the European Union, which should tackle the following issues:

(a)a general picture of the number and types of public undertakings in the Union, according to size in economic terms, sector and Member State;

(b)the rules governing public undertakings contained in Community law and whether they correspond to or differ from the national laws of the Member States;

(c)existing forms of collaboration between public and private undertakings, their scope for further development and possible new forms of collaboration which may be advocated and supported;

(d)possible proposals for a more balanced relocation of public undertakings in the European economic system, on the part of the Union and the Member States;

7.Calls on the Commission also to present, in the above-mentioned communication, a global assessment, but making a distinction between public manufacturing undertakings and public undertakings providing public services, covering the following points:

-the scale of the privatizations carried out over the last ten years in the countries of the Union, including reference to the privatization programmes which these countries intended or still intend to carry out,

-whether the objectives of greater efficiency, the fostering of competition, the development of the capital market and the satisfaction of needs have actually been achieved and effects on employment,

- the appropriateness and limits of a homogeneous Community view of privatization policies;

8.Expresses its concern that at present the concepts of public service and general interest remain undefined despite there being more clear-cut guidelines on the liberalization of markets, the dismantling of monopolies and privatization; asserts therefore that competition policy and the other market policies must be in harmony with the recognition of public interest and citizens' right to accessible public services and with homogeneous standards of service, inter alia in order to guarantee true equality among European citizens; therefore requests that these objectives and principles should be given full consideration when the Treaty is revised in 1996;

9.Calls on the Commission to take the initiative to ensure that the Union adopts a European public service charter covering the following points:

-identification of the common principles with which public services in Europe must comply in order to meet the requirements of true European citizenship,

- equal treatment for users of the various services which are provided on a national basis but have a supranational dimension,

- qualitative and quantitative standards to be guaranteed for every service,

- forms of control for users and consumers,

- a list of services to which the above principles must apply Europe-wide;

10.Calls on the Member States to undertake to set up information systems in their cities, including data processing systems, immediately accessible to all citizens, providing a detailed description of the public services available and the arrangements for providing them;

11.Calls for the creation of a temporary parliamentary committee to deal with the problems of public services in Europe, at least until the charter referred to in paragraph 9 is adopted;

12.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and the Council.