2 Amendments of Sampo TERHO related to 2011/0438(COD)
Amendment 90 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) Other categories of services continue by their very nature to have a limited cross- border dimension, namely what are known as services to the person, such as certain social, health and educational services. These services are provided within a particular context that varies widely amongst Member States, due to different cultural traditions. A specific regime should therefore be established for public contracts for these services, with a higher threshold of EUR 500 000. Services to the person with values below this threshold will typically not be of interest to providers from other Member States, unless there are concrete indications to the contrary, such as Union financing for transborder projects. Contracts for services to the person above this threshold should be subject to Union-wide transparency. Given the importance of the cultural context and, the sensitivity of these services, Member States should be githe subsidiarity principle, Protocol 26 on Services of general interest, Article 14 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 36 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, Member States haven wide discretion to organise the choice of the service providers in the way they consider most appropriate, as closely as possible to the needs of the users, and taking into account the differences in the needs and preferences of users that may result from different geographical, social or cultural situations, and to ensure universal access, continuity and availability of the services in all territories of the Union. The rules of this directive take account of that imperative, imposing only observance of basic principles of transparency and equal treatment and making sure that contracting authorities are able to apply specific quality criteria for the choice of service providers, such as the criteria set out in the voluntary European Quality Framework for Social Services of the European Union's Social Protection Committee, which are designed to ensure a high level of quality, continuity, accessibility, availability and comprehensiveness of the services, the specific needs of different categories of users, the involvement and empowerment of users, their satisfaction, social inclusion and, where relevant, innovation. Member States and/or public authorities remain free to provide these services themselves or to organise social services in a way that does not entail the conclusion of public contracts, for example through the mere financing of such services or by granting licences or authorisations to all economic operators meeting the conditions established beforehand by the contracting authority, without any limits or quotas, provided such a system ensures sufficient advertising and complies with the principles of transparency and non- discrimination.
Amendment 358 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 76 – paragraph 2
Article 76 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall ensure that contracting authorities may take into account the need to ensure high quality, continuity, accessibility, affordability, availability and comprehensiveness of the services, the specific needs of different categories of users, the involvement and empowerment of users and innovation. Member States may also provide that the choice of the service provider shall not be mad, their satisfaction, social inclusion and, where relevant, innovation. When drawing up quality criteria, contracting authorities may refer to the criteria set out in the svolely on the basis of the price for the provision of the suntary European Quality Framework for Social Services.