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Unity and Diversity of SSGIs in the European Union

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Social Services of General Interest in the EU

Part of the book series: Legal Issues of Services of General Interest ((LEGAL))

Abstract

At the start of the 2000s, a new category of SGIs appeared in European debates: social services of general interest (SSGI). This is a new category that brings with it at least two new research questions: what services may be characterised as SSGIs and do they form a legal category to which one could apply a consistent body of rules? To address these questions, this paper, on the basis of the study ‘Mapping of the Public Services’ 2009–2010, discusses SSGI in the EU by considering the relationship between diversity and unity, in the context of the available empirical data, through four distinct ‘approaches’.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Bauby and Similie 2010.

  2. 2.

    Commission, Green Paper on Services of General Interest, COM(2003) 270, 21 May 2003.

  3. 3.

    Commission, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, White Paper of Services of General Interest, COM(2004) 374, 12 May 2004.

  4. 4.

    Commission, Communication from the Commission, Implementing the Community Lisbon Programme: Social Services of General Interest in the European Union, COM(2006)177, 26 April 2006; Commission, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Accompanying the Communication on ‘A Single Market for 21 st Century Europe’, Services of General Interest, Including Social Services of General Interest: a New European Commitment, COM(2007)725, 20 November 2007.

  5. 5.

    See in particular Hubner et al. 2008.

  6. 6.

    Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on Services in the Internal Market, OJ 2006 L 376.

  7. 7.

    EP, Report on the Commission White Paper on Services of General Interest, Rapporteur: Bernhard Rapkay, 2005/2101(INI), 14 September 2006; EP, Report on Social Services of General Interest in the European Union, Rapporteur: Joel Hasse-Ferreira, 2006/2134(INI) 6 March 2007; and EP, Report on the Single Market Review: Tackling Barriers and Inefficiencies through Better Implementation and Enforcement, Rapporteur: Jacques Toubon, 2007/2024(INI), 23 July 2007; Conclusions of the Lisbon SSGI Forum of 17 September 2007.

  8. 8.

    See COM(2006) 177.

  9. 9.

    See the European case law cited below.

  10. 10.

    See, Gallo 2011, pp. 4–5.

  11. 11.

    See COM(2006)177, p. 7.

  12. 12.

    Ibid.

  13. 13.

    COM(2006) 177; COM(2007) 725.

  14. 14.

    In the questionaire of consultation addressed to Member States in 2004, the European Commission noted that ‘it is clear that some… fields go beyond “social protection” in the narrow sense. But nevertheless e.g. also education and training or access to placement services could form part of the social services (e.g. vocational training, training of handicapped persons) or have similarities to social protection…’.

  15. 15.

    CJEU, Case C-109/92 Wirth [1993] ECR I-6447; CJEU, Case C-355/00 Freskot [2003] ECR I-5287; CJEU, Case C-263/86 Humbel [1988] ECR 5365; CJEU, Case C-159/91 Poucet et Pistre [1993] ECR I-637; CJEU, Case C-218/00 INAIL [2002] ECR I-691, paras 43-48; CJEU, Joined Cases C-264/01, C-306/01, C-354/01 and C-355/01 AOK Bundesverband [2004] ECR I-2493, paras 51–55.

  16. 16.

    CJEU, Case C-172/98 Commission v. Belgium [1999] ECR I-3999; CJEU, Case C-70/95 Sodemare [1997] ECR I-3395: ‘Articles 52 and 58 of the Treaty do not preclude a Member State from allowing only non-profit-making private operators to participate in the running of its social welfare system by concluding contracts which entitle them to be reimbursed by the public authorities for the costs of providing social welfare services of a health-care nature. As Community law stands at present, a Member State may, in the exercise of the powers it retains to organise its social security system, consider that attainment of the objectives pursued by a social welfare system which, being based on the principle of solidarity, is designed as a matter of priority to assist those in need, necessarily implies that the admission of private operators to that system as providers of social welfare services is to be made subject to the condition that they are non-profit-making.’ .

  17. 17.

    The fact that a provision falls within the field of social security or of health does not in itself lead to exclude the application of the Treaty rules. CJEU, Case C-157/99 Smits and Peerbooms [2001] ECR I-5473.

  18. 18.

    CJEU, Case C-244/94 FFSA [1995] ECR I-4013, paras 17-22; CJEU, Case C-67/96 Albany [1999] ECR I-5751, paras 80–87.

  19. 19.

    CJEU, Case C-157/99 Smits and Peerbooms [2001] ECR I-5473, para 53; CJEU, Joined Cases 286/82 and 26/83 Luisi et Carbone [1984] ECR 377, para 16; CJEU, Case C-159/90 Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (IVG) [1991] ECR I-4685, para 18; CJEU, Case C-368/98 Abdon Vanbraekel [2001] ECR I-5363, para 43; GC, Case T-167/04 Asklepios Kliniken [2007] ECR II-2379, paras 49–55.

  20. 20.

    CJEU, Case C-475/99 Glöckner [2001] ECR I-8089, para 20.

  21. 21.

    CJEU, Case C-41/90 Höffner [1991] ECR I-1979, para 21.

  22. 22.

    GC, Case T-289/03 BUPA [2008] ECR II-917.

  23. 23.

    Ibid. para 42.

  24. 24.

    Ibid. para 167.

  25. 25.

    Directive 2006/123/EC.

  26. 26.

    Ibid. Article 2(2)(f).

  27. 27.

    Ibid. Article 2(2)(j).

  28. 28.

    NACE rev. 1, Section L ‘Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security’, Section M ‘Education’ (primary, secondary, higher education, adult and other education), Section N ‘Health and Social Work’ (including veterinary activities). Section J ‘Financial Intermediation’ contains ‘66. Insurance and Pension Funding, Except Compulsory Social Security’.

    Eurostat statistics on the social protection take into in the structure of expenditure of social protection benefits in kind (in goods or services) the healthcare expenditures (direct provision and reimbursement of in-patient and out-patient healthcare, including pharmaceutical products) and social services (Social services with accommodation, assistance with carrying out daily tasks, rehabilitation, child day care, vocational training, placement services and job search assistance, etc.).

  29. 29.

    They are part of the Section J ‘Financial Intermediation’, subdivision 66 « Insurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security ».

  30. 30.

    The European System of Integrated Social Protection Statistics (ESSPROS). Available at: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/social_protection/introduction

    Expenditure on social protection contain: social benefits, which consist of transfers, in cash or in kind, to households and individuals to relieve them of the burden of a defined set of risks or needs; administration costs, which represent the costs charged to the scheme for its management and administration; other expenditure, which consist of miscellaneous expenditure by social protection schemes.

  31. 31.

    Eurostat, Total expenditure on social protection per head of population. PPS. Available at: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tps00100

  32. 32.

    DEAS, CIRIEC International, CSIL and PPMI, Study for the European Parliament, 2010.

  33. 33.

    Article 17 of the Law No.1982/710.

  34. 34.

    Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Standards for Quality in Social Services, 2002, p. 23. Avaiable at:

    http://www.mpsv.cz/files/clanky/2057/standards.pdf.

  35. 35.

    REVES 2009, p. 2.

  36. 36.

    COM(2006) 177.

  37. 37.

    CJEU, Case 126/86, Fernando Zaera v. Institut Nacional de la Seguridad Social and Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social [1987] ECR 3697, para 11.

  38. 38.

    Ibid. para 14.

  39. 39.

    Council Regulation No. 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the Application of Social Security Schemes to Employed Persons, to Self-Employed Persons and to Members of their Families Moving within the Community, OJ 1971 L 149/2 and Council Regulations No. 574/72 of 21 March 1972 Laying Down the Procedure for Implementing Regulation No. 1408/71 on the Application of Social Security Schemes to Employed Persons, to Self-Employed Persons and to Their Families Moving within the Community, OJ 1972 L 74/1.

  40. 40.

    The Protocol on Social Policy and Article 136 EC [now Article 151 TFEU] stating for the objective of a ‘proper social protection’.

  41. 41.

    According to Article 2 EC, one of the Community’s tasks is to promote ‘a high level … of social protection’.

  42. 42.

    Council, Presidency Conclusions, Nice European Council 7-9 December 2000, SN 400/00, Annex I European Social Agenda.

  43. 43.

    Article 3(3) TEU.

  44. 44.

    Article 4(2)(b) TFEU.

  45. 45.

    Article 5(3) TFEU.

  46. 46.

    Article 6(a) TFEU.

  47. 47.

    Article 9 TFEU.

  48. 48.

    Article 21(3) TFEU.

  49. 49.

    Article 153(1)(c) TFEU.

  50. 50.

    Article 153(4) TFEU [emphasis added].

  51. 51.

    Article 34 CFR (Social security and social assistance).

  52. 52.

    See in particular Hubner et al. 2010; DEAS, CIRIEC International, CSIL and PPMI, Study for the European Parliament, 2010; REVES 2010.

  53. 53.

    Hubner et al. 2010.

  54. 54.

    A ‘service State’ as opposed to ‘transfer states’ that offer mainly cash benefits. Compared to France, for example, in 1990, about one-third of social spending in Sweden were devoted to services contrary to a bit more of a ninth only in France (Gøsta Esping-Andersen, op.cit., p. 85).

  55. 55.

    Madell 2009.

  56. 56.

    A new provision of the Social Services Act, in force since 1 January 2011, stipulates the ‘dignified life within elderly care’ (Värdigt liv i äldreomsorgen) to be provided by social services, to guarantee an appropriate response according to the needs and requirements of every individual and by taking into consideration the various cultural, ethical and other particular conditions associated with the person’s identity.

  57. 57.

    The size of the municipalities is very different (from 2.800 to 740.000 inhabitants, on average 15.000 inhabitants).

  58. 58.

    Hoorens 2008, p. 671.

  59. 59.

    Available at: http://www.notisum.se/rnp/sls/lag/20080962.htm

  60. 60.

    The list of service contracts also includes rail and water transport services, investigation and security services, education and vocational education services, etc. Available at:

    http://www.kkv.se/upload/Filer/ENG/Publications/System_of_Choice.pdf.

  61. 61.

    At the origins of the formal recognition of the role of these organisations in the provision of social services, according to the ‘subsidiarity principle’ the state should get engaged in these services only if the families and the ‘charitable’ organisations fail.

  62. 62.

    Wollmann and Marcou 2010.

  63. 63.

    Esping-Andersen 1996, p. 66.

  64. 64.

    The French doctrine and jurisprudence do not distinguish the category of social public services because traditionally they were organised according to administrative law procedures. Nowadays, the terms ‘social services/services sociaux’ and ‘socio-medical services/services sociaux-médicaux’ are used in the French legislation. See Bauby 2011a, b, p. 114.

  65. 65.

    Available at http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000804607&dateTexte

  66. 66.

    See Bauby 1998.

  67. 67.

    In France, hospital services accounted in 2006 for almost half of the health expenditure in France.

  68. 68.

    Direction de la recherche, des études, de l’évaluation et des statistiques (DREES), Le panorama des établissements de santé. Édition 2010, 2011.

  69. 69.

    Loi No. 2009-879 portant réforme de l’hôpital et relative aux patients, à la santé et aux territories. Available at: http://legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000020879475&categorieLien=id.

  70. 70.

    See in particular the public service mission defined by Article L6112-1 of Code de la santé publique.

  71. 71.

    Hoorens 2008.

  72. 72.

    Available at: http://www.socialsecurity.fgov.be/eu/fr/agenda/26-27_10_10.asp.

  73. 73.

    Council, Council Conclusions Services of General Interest: at the heart of the European Social Model 8 December 2010, 17566, SOC 828.

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  1. Paris 8 University, 66 rue de Rome, 75008, Paris, France

    Pierre Bauby

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  1. Pierre Bauby
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Correspondence to Pierre Bauby .

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  1. , Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, Studiestræde 6, Copenhagen K, 1455, Denmark

    Ulla Neergaard

  2. , School of Law, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, United Kingdom

    Erika Szyszczak

  3. , Faculty of Law, Radboud University, Comeniuslaan 4, Nijmegen, 6525 HP, Netherlands

    Johan Willem van de Gronden

  4. , Fachbereich Rechtswissenschaft, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schillerstraße 1, Erlangen, 91054, Germany

    Markus Krajewski

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Bauby, P. (2013). Unity and Diversity of SSGIs in the European Union. In: Neergaard, U., Szyszczak, E., van de Gronden, J., Krajewski, M. (eds) Social Services of General Interest in the EU. Legal Issues of Services of General Interest. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague, The Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-6704-876-7_2

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