As regards the Chapter 3 – Right of Establishment and Freedom to Provide Services, the obligation of Serbia is harmonization of national legislation with Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on services in the internal market and its full implementation. Since the Services Directive is one of the most complex EU regulations, the Legal Support for Negotiations project provided assistance to Serbian authorities, primarily the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications (MTTT) regarding services of general interest.
Services of general interest are those that public authorities of the EU member countries classify as being of general interest. They can be provided either by the state or by the private sector. Examples of services of general interest include: public transport, postal services, and healthcare. There are three categories of services of general interest:
– Services of general economic interest, which are basic services that are carried out in return for payment, such as postal services.
– Non-economic services, such as the police, justice and statutory social security schemes.
– Social services of general interest are those that respond to the needs of vulnerable citizens, and are based on the principles of solidarity and equal access. They can be both of an economic or non-economic nature. Examples include social security schemes, employment services and social housing.
It is important to note that public authorities in the EU Member States have considerable discretion in defining what they regard as services of general economic interest. SGEI are therefore very diverse and disparities may exist because of different geographical, social and cultural situations. Accordingly, it is the responsibility of the public authorities at national or even at regional level to decide on the nature and scope of a service of general interest.
The project expert, Konstantinos Bouas provided clarification of some of the notions over the issue of services of general interest, general economic interest, social services of general interest etc. A number of examples, when identifying SGEI was also provided to the MTTT, to support them in clarifying notions and terms. Finally, a proposed classification of SGEI and SSGI across the European Union was delivered, to the MTTT. The final decision on which services should be included to the SGEI is up to the public authorities of the Republic of Serbia.
