Spanje en Portugal moeten richtlijn voor financiële transparantie invoeren om te voldoen aan EU-staatssteun-regelgeving (en)
The European Commission has issued a formal request to Portugal and Spain to implement in full at national level the Commission Directive on the transparency of financial relations between Member States and public undertakings (2000/52/EC, amending Directive 80/723/EC). The formal request takes the form of a reasoned opinion, the second stage of the infringement procedure under Article 226 of the EC Treaty. If Portugal and Spain do not take the necessary measures to comply with the reasoned opinion within two months of receipt, the Commission may refer the two Member States concerned to the European Court of Justice.
"The purpose of these rules is to make sure that the accounts of public undertakings and other companies offering services of general interest are transparent. It is in taxpayers' interests to ensure that money for public services is not creamed off for other - commercial - purposes", commented Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes.
Commission Directive 80/723/EC effectively places a double transparency requirement on Member States. First, transparency concerning the details of financial relations between public authorities and public undertakings and the use to which public funds are put, and second, transparency vis-à-vis the Commission. In this respect of the latter requirement, the Directive provides for some financial information to be kept by Member States and disclosed to the Commission on request, whereas other information is provided in the form of annual reports.
Commission Directive 2000/52/EC extended these transparency requirements to include not only public undertakings but also companies which operate, on the one hand, services of general economic interest and receive compensation in form of payments or special or exclusive rights and which, on the other hand, are also active in normal commercial operations (except in sectors for which another Community instrument already requires separation of accounts - e.g. telecommunications and railways). The Directive aims to ensure the Commission receives the necessary data to examine complaints about alleged over-compensation of public service costs and cross-subsidisation of commercial activities (see IP/00/763).
Member States should have brought into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the Directive by 31 July 2001 at the latest. More than three years after this date, the Directive has not been fully implemented by Portugal and Spain. .
The Commission has carefully considered the reasons put forward by the Portuguese and Spanish authorities for not having fully implemented the Directive, but considers that, on the basis of the transmitted national legal instruments, neither Portugal nor Spain have covered all provisions laid down in the Directive in the correct way. The Commission is therefore insisting on complete and effective implementation of the Directive.