Abstract
The promotion of efficient and sustainable means of transport has been a key issue of public debate across the European Union (EU). Particularly, transport needs in peripheral and remote areas have a great importance for EU transport policies in order to ensure the mobility of goods and persons in these regions, and thus to achieve greater territorial cohesion in the member states concerned. Despite the remarkable efforts to improve the competitiveness of aviation in the EU single market, certain regional routes have traditionally suffered a lack of scheduled air routes. The internal market, once liberalized, has provided an instrument in order to ensure adequate transportation for the carriage of goods and persons in special cases. When this occurs, according to Regulation (CE) no. 1008/2008, national civil aviation authorities may impose a public service obligation (PSO) on specific air routes. In addition, this form of public intervention can lead to restriction on market access to one carrier, and even to the payment of compensation to the awarded airline through the launching of a tendering procedure for the operation of the required air service. In the case of Spain, this type of administrative concession has been shifting towards e-procurement processes by providing transparent electronic portals. This research aims, precisely, at encouraging a better understanding of how information technology may have systemic benefits to public bodies aiming to efficiently conduct a digital procurement ecosystem. To do this, the authors have analyzed the 23 PSO routes imposed so far, and the corresponding administrative procedures. The findings suggest that e-procurement has led to greater public transparency.
Highlights
Transportation plays an essential role in ensuring the free mobility of goods and individuals that, together with services and capital, provide the four freedoms of the European single market
Throughout this paper, a whole new outlook has been given on the public service obligation (PSO) schema applied to the Spanish case, especially issues related to procurement procedures with regards to inviting tenders and awarding the concession of public air services
The main objective of this research was to Throughout this paper, a whole new outlook has been given on the PSO schema applied to the Spanish case, especially issues related to procurement procedures with regards to inviting tenders and awarding the concession of public air services
Summary
Transportation plays an essential role in ensuring the free mobility of goods and individuals that, together with services and capital, provide the four freedoms of the European single market. The free-market regime can lead to a territorial disadvantage when there is a lack of competition on specific air routes In such instances, several member states have strongly used the imposition of public service obligation (PSO). The PSO schema has arisen in response to the needs of the population living in peripheral or remote territories, whose airports are not being sufficiently serviced by airlines They are operating under a system of free competition, airlines might not be attracted to serve some routes in terms of public service. In line with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter called TFEU), the freedom to provide services is one of the fundamental four freedoms of its internal market Any such limitation has to be strictly limited in scope and proportionate to the desired objective. Thanks to the promotion of e-procurement, it is foreseeable that tenders among EU countries can become fully transparent and permanently monitored without any restriction
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