Open letter calling for confirmation of public legal status of the ABC water services company of Naples

From European Water Movement

To Municipality of Naples, to the attention of the Mayor Gaetano Manfredi and the City Council

To Region of Campania, to the attention of the President Roberto Fico

Subject – Call of the European Water Movement: confirm Acqua Bene Comune di Napoli as Special Company under public law and proceed immediately to the renewal of the concession of water and sanitation services

Dear Municipality of Naples
Dear Region of Campania

with this open letter we, the European Water Movement, European movement founded in your city in 2011, following the successful referendum held in Italy on public water, intend to express our dismay at the envisaged hypothesis of transforming Acqua Bene Comune Napoli (ABC) from special company under public law into stock company under private law.

First of all, we remind that both the EU and Italian regulatory frameworks absolutely do not prohibit the existence of special companies under public law, and a fortiori do not prohibit the renewal for such companies of concessions already in place. For example, the 'régie à autonomie financiaire et personnalité morale' is the French equivalent of the Italian special company under public law, and more and more French municipalities choose this kind of public entity instead of private companies for managing their water and sanitation services and confirm their choice after each municipal election.

That premised, we don’t see any justification for modifying the legal status of ABC, given the more than satisfactory operational results, both economically and in terms of quality of services, with a valid participation as by statute of citizens and workers, with results surely better, compared with so many companies under private law, whether under private, public or mixed property. For example, results in terms of price and quality of service by the 'régies' in Paris, Montpellier, Lyon etc. are better than those of equivalent water private companies.

Moreover, the confirmation of the legal status of special company makes it possible to proceed immediately to the concession for the next thirty years, by assuring in this way a guarantee to maintain in the mid and long term its nature of public good not subject to commodification and to the risk of conditioning by private interests, surely stronger than under its transformation into a stock company under private law, even in case of maintenance of 100% public property. In fact, legal status of a stock company under private law cannot assure in the mid and long term the maintenance of a government totally public and participative, compared to what can be guaranteed by a special company under public law.

Therefore, confirm ABC as special company under public law and proceed immediately to the renewal of the concession, also in respect of the will expressed in the referendum held in Italy in 2011 and of the principles enshrined by the many movements in Italy, in Europe and in the World, striving for a public and participative government not subject to commodification and privatization, and adopted by the European Water Movement since its foundation.

Best regards

Co-signatories:

Berliner Wassertisch (Berlin Water Table)
Coordination Eau Île-de-France
Eau Secours 34
Enginyeria Sense Fronteres (Engineering Without Borders)
European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU)
Forum Italiano dei Movimenti per l’Acqua
Naturefriends Greece