History of Services of General Interest

‘Services of General Interest’ cover a broad range of industries such as energy, telecommunications, transport and postal services.

These services are essential for the daily life of citizens and reflect Europe’s model of society. They play a major role in ensuring social, economic and territorial cohesion throughout the Union and are vital for the sustainable development of the EU in terms of higher levels of employment, social inclusion, economic growth and environmental quality.

Although their scope and organisation vary significantly according to histories and cultures of state intervention, SGI can be defined as the services, both economic and non-economic, which governments classify as being of general interest and subject to specific public service obligations. This means that it is essentially the responsibility of national governments to decide on the nature and scope of a service of general interest.

Governments can decide to carry out the services themselves or they can decide to entrust them to other entities, which can be public or private, and can act either for-profit or not for-profit.

At the same time, providers of these services must respect the rules laid down in the EC Treaty and in secondary EU law where these are applicable.

A number of network industries which perform services of general economic interest are also now subject to sector-specific EU directives. In partnership with National, Regional and Local Authorities, the EU has a role to play in framing the principles and conditions for the operation of a wide range of services. This shared responsibility is reflected in the Protocol on Services of General Interest annexed to the Treaty of Lisbon.

Τwo sets of services of general interest can be distinguished, in terms of how they are governed by EU rules:

• Services of general economic interest: the provision and organisation of these services are subject to internal market and competition rules of the EC Treaty since their activities are economic in nature.

In the case of large network industries having a clear European-wide dimension, such as telecommunications, electricity, gas, transport and postal services, these services are regulated by a specific EU legislative framework.

Other services of general economic interest, such as those in the area of water supply or waste water treatment, are not subject to a self standing regulatory regime at EU level. There are, however, specific Community rules such as public procurement, environmental and consumer protection legislation which apply to certain aspects of the service. In addition, a number of services of general economic interest are also subject to the regulatory framework established by the Services Directive.

• Non-economic services: these services which are traditional state prerogatives such as police, justice and statutory social security schemes are not subject to specific EU legislation, nor are they covered by the internal market and competition rules of the Treaty. Some aspects of the organisation of these services may be subject to other rules of the Treaty, such as the principle of non-discrimination.