Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.3935/zpfz.69.56.08
Services of General Economic Interest in EU Law and the Croatian Legal Framework in Selected Administrative Areas
Tomislav Sokol
orcid.org/0000-0002-3592-2967
; Zagreb School of Economics and Management, Zagreb, Croatia
Frane Staničić
orcid.org/0000-0001-8304-7901
; Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Regulation of services of general economic interest is a very complex area of law. They represent an extremely vital part of trade on the internal market of the European Union and of the economy of the EU as a whole. They encompass a very wide spectrum of human activities and are present in all spheres of life. There are those whose economic nature poses no dillemmas, but also those whose organisation and funding is specific and subject to special legal regulation, such as health care, education, public transport etc. EU primary law does not define them, but rather leaves it to the autonomy of the Member States. However, the said autonomy is not absolute, with the overall framework being defined by the EU. The crucial factor in this regard is the economic nature of the services in question, since only economic services fall within the ambit of EU market rules. Case-law in this area is very complex, with the applicability of market rules being determined casuistically.
In case of economic services where the Altmark criteria are fulfilled, EU internal market rules are also not applicable. Consequently, the state can entrust an undertaking with the exercise of a service of general economic interest, as well as provide it with financial assistance necessary to carry out the task with which it is entrusted. Finally, even if market rules are applicable, national divergence from the market rules can be justified if it is necessary for the exercise of the general interest in question. The aim of this paper is to analyse the regulatory framework of the European Union that defines services of general economic interest, the intersection of this concept regarding the rules on free movement, competition and state aid on the internal market of the EU, and to ascertain whether the Republic of Croatia respects the aforementioned regulatory framework and whether there are issues in domestic administrative law which need resolving.
The analysis has shown that the Croatian administrative legal framework is to a large extent compatible with EU law. This is especially the case in the areas regulated by EU secondary legislation, containing detailed rules on the issue of services of general economic interest. It is a somewhat different situation in the areas which primarily fall within the competence of the Member States, like health care and education. Here, it is necessary for national law to make a clear distinction between economic and non-economic services of general interest. The latter is needed to increase legal certainty and to clear doubts about the state illegally prioritising public entities over private ones.
Keywords
Altmark; education; health care; transport; services of general economic interest
Hrčak ID:
233806
URI
Publication date:
31.1.2020.
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