Menettelystä kuntalain mukaista palveluvelvoitetta annettaessa

Kirjoittajat

• Heidi Hernetkoski Itä-Suomen yliopisto
• Matti Muukkonen Itä-Suomen yliopisto

Avainsanat:

palveluvelvoite, palvelut, yleishyödylliset palvelut, kunnat, hallintomenettely

Abstrakti

Procedure for granting a service obligation in accordance with the Municipalities Act

In the article, the authors discuss the examination duties of municipal authorities or municipal officials when considering the application of 131 § of the Municipalities Act (410/2015). The section provides for a fixed-term service obligation that is based on a SGEI regulation (Services of General Economic Interest) defined in EU law. The matter of service obligation can become pending via different channels. However, before a municipal authority can impose a service obligation on a service provider operating in a competitive market environment, the authority must recognise whether the market is functioning inadequately, which is a justification for the authority to ensure the services that are deemed to be necessary for the well-being of the municipality’s residents. Furthermore, the authority must examine the markets and evaluate whether the service obligation is the appropriate way to ensure the services in question. The municipality must also take into consideration the opportunities for the residents of the municipality to participate and exert an influence in the matter.  It can be stated that in order to examine the service obligation matter fully, the authority must consider several stakeholders, but examination methods should be applied on a case-by-case basis depending on the municipality and the services in question. The form or scope of the examination is, to a lesser extent, regulated, but the municipal authority must be able to demonstrate that the matter in hand has been sufficiently examined in order to proceed with the service obligation.