A4-0196/98

Resolution on the communication from the Commission on the participation of European Economic Interest Groupings (EEIGs) in public contracts and programmes financed by public funds (COM(97)0434 - C4-0590/97)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission communication (COM(97)0434 - C4-0590/97),

- having regard to its resolution of 22 October 1997 ((OJ C 339, 10.11.1997, p. 65.)) on the Commission's Green Paper on Public Procurement (COM(96)0583 - C4-0009/97),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy and the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights (A4-0196/98),

A. whereas participation of SMEs in public procurement and programmes financed by public funds has still not reached a satisfactory level,

B. whereas European Economic Interest Groupings (EEIGs) can be a valuable instrument to help SMEs exploit the opportunities of the Single Market, to open up the national procurement markets and to increase transnational cooperation,

C. whereas account should be taken of the specific problems of access to information and of the low participation rate of micro-enterprises and SMEs in the EEIGs, despite the fact that this group represents 98.9% of EU enterprises and accounts for 52% of jobs, as well as making the greatest contribution to the development of local markets and to job creation,

D. whereas since the Regulation on EEIGs came into force in 1989 only 800 EEIGs have been set up within the European Union,

E. whereas studies carried out by the Commission revealed that most SMEs are not aware of the existence of EEIGs or lack information on the functioning of this instrument,

F. whereas the Commission is currently producing a vade mecum on EEIGs to tackle the lack of information,

1. Welcomes this communication by the Commission as one step in the promotion of the EEIG mechanism for the use of SMEs;

2. Is nevertheless of the opinion that further steps have to be taken to increase significantly the use of EEIGs by SMEs;

3. Calls on the Commission to encourage the voluntary establishment of an EEIG panel at EU level, consisting of national and sectoral representatives as well as those representing the Social Partners and SME organisations, to act as a conduit for information on EEIGs and associated issues;

4. Suggests that, once the vade mecums are produced, they should be subject to a critical evaluation from national and sectoral organisations which have an interest in the promotion of SMEs, or who represent such companies as part of their mandate (or the co-operation panel, as described above);

5. Is of the opinion that in this way it will become clear whether practical expertise can identify areas of concern that have escaped the Commission, and possibly suggest ways of overcoming these problems;

6. Calls on the Commission to present a further Communication within two years on the basis of such a consultation, suggesting modifications to the interpretive texts, and possibly additional measures to promote the EEIG mechanism;

7. Stresses that also a horizontal discussion within the Commission services is necessary, to verify that actions taken on competition, public procurement promotion and the promotion of technology for the dissemination of information, do not detract from the promotion of EEIGs within the EU;

8. Calls on the Commission to encourage Member States to identify or establish centres where good quality advice and training are available to SMEs wishing to participate in this scheme and which would ideally be linked to the Member State Government so as to be able to feed back information relating to areas where "national¨ issues or policies may be causing difficulties or confusion for small businesses which are participating in transnational activities;

9. Points out that such centres would also be able to liaise with their counterparts in other Member States to try and achieve mutual understanding and agreement over practical ways of dealing with some of the problems identified by SMEs;

10. Calls on the Commission to ensure that effective monitoring systems are put into place and the data obtained is of a compatible format;

11. Requests that the Commission include data feedback in its report to the European Parliament; if there is no demonstrable improvement in take-up of the EEIG procedure, then clearly a rethinking of strategy is required;

12. Takes the view that - as part of the dissemination of information and advice - the Commission should promote the use of information technology packages; emphasises however, that

- information technology is not used exclusively since research indicates that there is a considerable degree of inequality of access to IT across the Union, and

- funding is made available not only for the setting-up of on-line information and assistance, but this and associated measures are allocated sufficient resources for the management of these services;

13. Calls on the Commission to encourage Member State co-operation for the resolution (albeit informal) of some of the problems highlighted in the reports on and surveys relating to EEIGs; for example, problems of joint and several liability, transnational contracts, credit facilities and non-discrimination, etc.;

14. Notes that EEIGs have to deal with various legal obstacles arising from the application of the directives on public procurement, including the requirement concerning the subsequent adoption of a specific legal form for the execution of the contract; while aware of the need for a period of consolidation for the provisions concerned, calls on the Commission to examine the impact of these obstacles and the implications of recent ECJ case-law concerning the award of contracts to groups of undertakings, and to take all these factors into account when proposing the revision of the directives;

15. Stresses the existence of practical problems related to the size of the undertakings in EEIGs and the nature of the public contracts awarded, and, while aware of the Commission's efforts to create support measures to offset the technical handicaps which may affect undertakings in the sector, calls on the Commission to expand its initiatives in the sector, in particular by creating support mechanisms to encourage participation in EEIGs by SMEs and micro-enterprises, the creation of EEIGs consisting solely of SMEs and micro-enterprises, and the establishment of funding opportunities for SME-based EEIGs operating in less-favoured and ultra-peripheral regions;

16. Notes the problems which EEIGs have to deal with when seeking financing; stresses, however, that access to credit for EEIGs should not be subject to discriminatory practices vis-à-vis more traditional types of national enterprise, and considers that EEIGs' creditworthiness can be sufficiently ensured on the basis of the joint and several liability of their members and, at all events, their personal creditworthiness;

17. Considers that EEIGs consisting of SMEs and micro-enterprises could form a suitable means of ensuring that such enterprises can undertake the centralisation of credit, thus making larger amounts of capital available more cheaply, should there exist a credit guarantee system backed up by the Community and the Member States;

18. Calls on the Commission to launch, or, if it already exists, to make fully operative for EEIGs, a pilot scheme for a financial instrument to encourage crossborder investment within the Union, aimed at supporting, by means of a network of banks and venture capital funds, the efforts of EEIGs carrying out their activity in another Member State;

19. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the parliaments of the Member States.