The Finnish Association of Vision and Eyecare (NÄE ry) opposes Minister Haatainen’s (Social Democratic Party of Finland) increase in the sales limits of public companies as part of the reform of the Procurement Act. NÄE ry and thirteen other business organisations have published a petition on the matter. According to the organisations, the business community must be consulted in the preparation of the act.
In connection with the health and social services reform, new publicly owned companies will be established, the purpose of which is to provide services for welfare areas. The new public companies would operate in the same way as the current municipal companies, which offer health and social services, among other things. Within the framework of the current Procurement Act, municipal companies can sell their services onto the market under certain conditions, which include a sales limit.
Minister of Employment Haatainen is pushing to raise the sales limits of these so-called affiliated units, even though the issue is not recorded in the government program. The need for the change is justified by the fact that, in some welfare areas, there is a “market shortage” for some services. The business associations do not accept this reasoning, but request that all stakeholders are consulted in the preparation of such an important matter.
“Compared to the rest of the EU, the public sector here in Finland has spread exceptionally strongly to operate in the private market as well. Even in eye care, we have already had a taste of this, when public actors have tried to create different types of companies and cooperatives, which are also supposed to join the competition in the private market. We cannot accept the fact that investments made from common tax funds will compete with the private market. In addition, it would take place without the normal business return requirement and risk”, states Panu Tast, CEO of Finnish Association of Vision and Eyecare NÄE ry.
In their petition, the business organisations remind that, according to the Local Government Act, the task of municipalities is to create conditions for business life. Raising the sales limits of public companies would significantly complicate business operations and result in significant market disruptions. The organizations that submitted the petition demand that additional time be taken in the preparation of the act and that the market effects of the sales be thoroughly investigated before decisions are made.
Petition from Business Community and Entrepreneurs (in Finnish)
More information:
Panu Tast, CEO, Finnish Association of Vision and Eyecare NÄE ry
Tel. +358 40 5422 227
panu.tast@naery.fi
