The consultation showed the demand for a stable, consistent legal environment for the award of concessions at EU level, in particular to reduce transaction costs (by decreasing legal risks) and more generally to enhance competition. Many stakeholders argued that increasing legal certainty and effective competition in the area of concessions would be a practical way of promoting PPPs, thereby increasing the contribution that private project financing can make in times of tight public budgets. Private stakeholders particularly underlined that only EU level action could provide such legal certainty avoiding at the same time the problems posed by the patchwork of national legislation, especially with regard to the new Member States which need private finance most. There are basically two ways to meet this demand: (1) non-binding guidance, in particular in the form of an Interpretative Communication, and (2) legislation spelling out the obligations emanating from general EC Treaty principles.