Ahead of the first Trilogue on the proposal for a Directive on the award of concession contracts, “CEEP reiterates its commitment to working with the co-legislators to ensure a
clear, simple and adequate legislative framework for the provision of services of general interest, bringing legal certainty rather than additional burdens”, stated CEEP General
Secretary, Valeria Ronzitti.

This requires above all to ensure the right scope for the future Directive in order to avoid any side effects which would give a wrong signal on the European Legislators’ objectives. In this regard, “CEEP calls on the Trilogue to secure Article 1 on the freedom of authorities in providing, commissioning and organising SGIs and reinforce it with a clear reference to
Article 14 of TFEU. This article provides for the necessary frame and it has to be guaranteed that the whole text of the Directive is coherent with that provision”.

To improve the definition of cooperation between contracting authorities or entities affiliated or not is essential. “Should articles 11 and article 15 be agreed upon as they stand now, it would indeed lead to serious damage to providers of services of general interest in several Member States, endangering the provision of those essential services to citizens and businesses”.

To further deepen the “light” regime for the awarding procedure, adapted to specificities of concession contracts, along the lines of the IMCO proposal.

“CEEP is at the full disposal of the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament to help them reach a text that would favour and not endanger the provision of Services of General Interests at national, regional and local levels”, concluded Valeria Ronzitti.

For further information, please contact: Priya Klinkenberg- tel. +32 (0) 2 229 21 40
CEEP gathers enterprises and organisations from across Europe, both public and private, at national, regional and local level, which are public employers or providers of services of general interest. CEEP members contribute to more than 26% of EU GDP and employ 30% of the EU workforce; CEEP is one of the three general corss-industry European Social Partners.