CEEP welcomed today the Commission Vice President, Mr Almunia, at the conference “The public services contribution to smart sustainable and inclusive growth”. “We highly appreciate the possibility to make concrete proposals on the revision of the package”, stated Carl Cederschiöld, President of CEEP. As Mr Almunia declared, his “round of consultation would not have been complete without hearing from the representatives of those who actually carry out activities of general economic interest across Europe”.

Public services providers are indeed at the very core of the revision and welcome the objectives of the reform, as laid down by Mr Almunia: “Clearer and simpler rules, more diversified and better focussed, helping to make the provision of public services more efficient”.

Invited to come forward with concrete proposals by Mr Almunia, Carl Cederschiöld proposed to use a combination of de minimis rules and increased thresholds to reduce red tape and make the state aid rules easier to apply. This model has already proven to be effective in many local realities.

Public services providers, concluded Mr Cederschiöld, are ready to further contribute in the shaping of the new package and look forward to have renewed exchanges with the Commission Vice President.

The full speech of Vice President Almunia can be read on the Commissioner’s website http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/almunia

For further information, please contact:
Valeria RONZITTI, Director of CEEP - tel. +32 (0) 2 219 27 98