Press Release: Commission defines approach for promoting high-quality services of general interest

The European Commission adopted on 12 May 2004 a White Paper setting out the European Union's approach to fostering the development of high-quality services of general interest. The White Paper presents the Commission's conclusions from a broad public consultation launched on the basis of last year's Green Paper. It highlights the fact that in the area of services of general interest, the responsibilities are shared between the Union and the Member States. It stresses the role of national, regional and local authorities in defining, organising, financing and monitoring services of general interest. The White Paper develops the main elements of an EU strategy aimed both at ensuring that all citizens and businesses have effective access to a broad range of services of general interest and at improving legal certainty. The Commission concludes that, at this stage, there is insufficient evidence of the added value of horizontal framework legislation compared to the existing sector-specific framework.

http://ec.europa.eu/services_general_interest/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/services_general_interest/index_en.htm

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