PUBLIC SERVICE OBLIGATIONS
侯利阳 Liyang Hou
【摘要】Public service obligations have been a key problem in liberalization. This research proposal attempts to discuss PSOs to a common approach. In the second section, two related concepts will be discussed and defined. The following section will explain economic and social rationales of PSOs. The subsequent section will sketch an attempt to provide a common approach to the obligations of public service. In the last section, this paper will summarize two projects which are not discussed now but need studied in the future. And in this section, the writer briefly introduces the liberalization conditions in electricity sectors.
【关键词】public service obligations，regulatory sectors
【全文】
【Content】
1. Introduction
2. Two Related Concepts
2.1 Public Service
2.2 Universal Service Obligations
3. Rationales for Public Service Obligations
3.1 Economic Rationales
3.2 Social Rationales
4. Obligations of Public Service
4.1 Obligations of Pure Natural Monopoly
4.2 Social Obligations
4.3 Obligations of Competition
5. Other Projects Not Discussed in This Paper But Need to Done
5.1 Sector-specific Approach
5.2 Transplant PSOs of EC into China
1. Introduction
Liberalization is one of tough works of EC to integrate single market in Community level. The competition law should restrict the authorities to create or maintain public enterprises with a monopoly or dominant position to the extent that the enterprises can not impede competition in the market. Considering specific operational circumstances in some monopoly sectors, however there is a contradiction between introducing competition into these sectors and ensuring operation of these sectors. Therefore EEC Article 86(2) grants undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest or having the character of a revenue-producing monopoly exemption when operation of competition rules obstruct their performance of the particular tasks assigned to them. So it leads to another key question how to define the performance of these undertakings. In recent Community law jargon it has been termed as a question of definition public service obligations (PSOs).
PSOs aim to ensure objectives such as economic efficiency, social or territorial cohesion and safety and security for all citizens. Nevertheless the concept of PSOs is one that everyone recognizes but nobody can embed in a well defined one. The Commission gave us a series of general elements about it but leaves the power of implementation to Member States sector by sector. The difference in implementation of PSOs between Member States however will postpone further integration in Community. Therefore it is necessary for us to take measure in harmonization. This essay will attempt to identify the content of PSOs to a general approach.
2. Two Related Concepts
2.1 Public Service
If we want to understand public service obligations, firstly we should know what public service is. Reasons for this are varied but the foremost one is that only we know what public service is, then we have the possibility to know how public service operates, and then we can establish feasible obligations to it. So the first step is to define public service.
