Opinion: SGIs for a Sustainable EU Competitiveness

Executive summary

• As a cross-sectoral social partner with members active on a local, regional, and national level, SGI Europe recognises the need to strengthen the competitiveness of the European economy. The EU Competitiveness Deal should be based on a long-term and bottom-up approach in which services of general interest (SGIs) are supported in their provision of the core services and infrastructures which businesses need to innovate and grow.
• The Green Deal and circularity should be at the centre of increasing competitiveness. SGIs are active in fields such as energy and water provision, public transport, postal services, media, telecommunications, waste management, housing, healthcare and education. As such, SGIs provide – on national, regional and local levels – the core services and infrastructures that businesses need to develop innovative technologies which contribute to the green and digital transitions and create competitive advantages for the European economy.
• As specified in Article 14 TFEU, SGIs play a central role in promoting social, territorial and economic cohesion in the EU. Therefore, SGIs should be included as an essential pillar of the EU Competitiveness Deal to ensure that it does not only increase the overall competitiveness of the EU but also strengthens the single market and local economy in all European territories. This will boost social cohesion and the long-term sustainability of Europe’s economic growth and competitiveness. For this reason, SGIs must be considered as a structural component of Europe’s competitiveness rather than as actors which only come into play in situations of market failure.
• The EU Competitiveness Deal should build on the rapid uptake of Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) to establish European Public Goods in areas such as healthcare, energy, and physical and digital infrastructures. SGIs are central to the realisation of European Public Goods through their provision of the services which all citizens benefit from and their bridging of the public and private sectors.
• To enable SGIs to fulfil their potential as drivers of European economic competitiveness, SGI Europe calls for:
  • A paradigm shift in EU competitiveness policies, through which SGIs are to be considered as a structural component of competitiveness and productivity, as opposed to a ‘necessary evil’ intervening only in case of market failure;
  • A targeted public investment plan for SGIs;
  • Better access to private investment for SGIs through a strengthened EIB and National Promotional Banks and the creation of a level playing field for public and private companies;
  • An enabling environment for providers of SGIs to join Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) and contribute to the realisation of European Public Goods;
  • Full reflection of Article 14 and Protocol 26 TFEU in all secondary legislation, taking into account local, regional and national specificities in the provision of SGIs;
  • A reduction in administrative burden;
  • Equal treatment for all small and medium-sized enterprises, regardless of their ownership status, guaranteeing a level playing field between public and private market actors and;
  • Preventing discrimination against public SMEs stemming from the application of the 2003 SME Definition (Commission recommendation 2003/361).