Design, Funding and Management of Public Service
Europeanization of public service
In the course of the first Europe-China forum in Nansha, September 2005, the main characteristics and evolutions of public service in Europe were presented through a workshop. Let us remind its main elements.
In all European countries, no matter how diverse the terms and concepts used, the qualified territorial echelons (local or national), the mercantile (or not) nature of certain services and types of concerned agents (public, private, joint, associative), public authorities were led to decide that some services could not just follow the sole common law of competition and the sole rules of market, but rather specific rules in order to:
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guarantee the right for every citizen to access some fundamental goods and services (education, health, transport, communication, etc.)
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ensure economical, social and territorial cohesion; establish some solidarity
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create the necessary conditions for a durable development on an economical, social and environmental level; take the long-term perspective and the interests of future generations into account.
Those targets and goals of general interest are a common value of Europe. The public services, or services of general interest, represent a key element of the European model of society, characterized by interaction and integration of economical and social progress, making it a social market economy.
