Translation of "Service sur demande " (French → English) :

Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive) requires Member States to ensure that calls to the number 112 are appropriately answered and handled, and that all end-users are able to call 112 free of charge.

11. Advocates a cautious approach concerning services liberalisation; considers a positive list as the most convenient tool with respect to services and asks the Commission to exclude public services such as drinking water supply from liberalisation; warns against aggressive approach concerning legal and accountancy, financial and retail services; Expects the Commission to give its assurance that speculative financial instruments are explicitly excluded from the scope of the agreement, too;

9. Rejects the Commission’s approach regarding public procurement and trade in services; considers a positive list as the most convenient tool with respect to services and asks the Commission to exclude public services from liberalisation; rejects the Commission’s aggressive approach concerning legal and accountancy services; recalls India’s right to keep its public procurement sector off the negotiating table; expects the Commission to give its assurance that speculative financial instruments are explicitly excluded from the scope of the agreement;

1. Twinning projects shall be set up in the form of a grant, whereby the selected Member State administrations agree to provide the requested public sector expertise against the reimbursement of the expenses thus incurred.

13. Notes that the funding models for universal service used so far in the Member States have not been very successful and that the tried and tested funding instrument for universal services in the past has been the reserved sector; calls therefore on the Commission to look in detail, in its forthcoming prospective study, at whether the development of the universal service, the retention of which remains relevant in economic and social terms, and a greater flexibility for the regulatory framework can have a positive influence on resolving the problem of funding universal services; calls on the Commission to examine the possibility of d ...[+++]ifferentiating the reserved sector depending on the costs associated with funding the universal service, particularly in view of geographic and demographic constraints;

8. Recalls, however, that public services include other sectors, which have not been excluded by the Commission from further liberalisation, such as postal services, energy and water; insists that in all negotiations the Commission must fully protect the ability of the EU and its Member States to regulate public services and services of general interest and to uphold the principle of universal service provision; asks the Commission to press for clarification of Article I:3(b) and I:3(c) of GATS, to make absolutely clear that ‘the ex ...[+++]ercise of governmental authority’ allows, without threat of legal challenge, WTO members to decide whether to withdraw public services and services of general interest, even those delivered on a commercial basis or in sectors where there is competition, from the scope of GATS;