Brussels issues guide on EU rules and services of general economic interest

The European Commission has published a guide on the application of the EU rules on state aid, public procurement and the internal market to services of general economic interest (SGEI).

The guide has been designed to cover social services of general interest (SSGI) in particular.

According to the Commission, the publication provides answers to the most frequent questions asked by public authorities, service users and providers, and other stakeholders.

“It addresses, for example, the scope of member states to define SGEI, the requirements for the legal act that entrusts the provider with the SGEI and the rules on how the provider can receive compensation for the provision of the SGEI,” Brussels said.

The guide covers:

  • The concept of SGEI;
  • The new state aid SGEI package: overview;
  • Communication;
  • Aid-free compensation under the de minimis regulations;
  • Compensation under the SGEI decision;
  • Compensation under the SGEI framework;
  • The SGEI pacakage and other rules;
  • Questions relating to the application to SSGI of the rules on public procurement;
  • Simultaneous application of the state aid rules and the rules on public contracts and service concessions to SGEIs;
  • General questions relating to the application to SGEIs, and SSGIs in particular, of the treaty rules on the internal market (freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services);
  • Questions concerning the applicability of the Services Directive to SGEIs and, in particular, to SSGIs.

This version of the guide takes into account the new state aid rules on SGEI adopted in December 2011 and April 2012 – the so-called Almunia package. It can be viewed here.

SGEIs are economic activities that public authorities identify as being of particular importance to citizens and that would not be supplied (or would be supplied under different conditions) if there were no public intervention. Examples given by the EC are transport networks, postal services and social services.