Staatssteun aan ziektekostenverzekeraar voor Franse ambtenaren wellicht ongeoorloofd (en)

Acting under the state aid rules laid down in the EC Treaty, the Commission has sent France a recommendation proposing that it amend three state measures that provide support for the mutual societies of French civil servants, federated within the Mutualité Fonction Publique (MFP). The Commission takes the view that the measures could constitute state aid and that they impede the development of the market for complementary sickness insurance. The proposal is intended to ensure that the conditions governing the activity of the various bodies operating on that market are fair. It would prevent discriminatory state financing and would also allow civil servants who are not necessarily members of the mutual societies within the MFP to have access to the social services receiving support from the state.

"French civil servants must be able to choose their complementary health insurance from whichever body they wish. This means that the insurers must all be treated in the same way, so as to allow a wider choice of services to be supplied at a cheaper price", said Neelie Kroes i, the Commission Member responsible for competition.

The mutual societies grouped within the MFP are the traditional administrators in France of the social security system for civil servants and public sector staff. They provide them with optional health and welfare insurance, with complementary social services (in the form of benefits, assistance services or access to specialised establishments) cofinanced by the state. The mutual societies are not only remunerated by the state for managing basic social security services, but also benefit from subsidies for the management of complementary insurance and social services. In addition, the state often makes administrative staff and premises available to them free of charge.

The Commission considers at this stage that these measures, which give the mutual societies in the MFP a privileged position compared with other complementary sickness insurance bodies, should be brought to an end. The aim is not to call into question the aid for the complementary health insurance of civil servants, but to ensure that the financial support is no longer provided in a discriminatory manner, but benefits all insurance bodies and, hence, all civil servants wishing to take out insurance cover.

If the French authorities accept the Commission's proposal, all the bodies offering complementary health insurance to civil servants would be placed on an equal footing. They would all be eligible for the subsidies which reduce the costs of such insurance and their clients would also be able to have direct access to state-financed social services.

Between 1993 and 2003, the French state provided EUR460million in support of the mutual societies in the MFP.