Greens welcome services directive vote

The European Parliament yesterday made crucial improvements to a legislative proposal that threatens to reduce the quality of EU services. A wide majority of MEPs in the employment and social affairs committee sided with Greens and Socialists in voting to significantly amend a proposal from the European Commission for a directive on services in the internal market. The committee backed reforms to ensure that certain key services such as health and temporary work would not be included. There are widespread fears among employees, MEPs and their constituents that the directive could lead to social and environmental dumping. 

For this reason the Greens/EFA and the majority of the committee voted out the 'country of origin' principle, a clause which would waiver provider's obligation to abide by the laws of the country in which they deliver their service.

Jean Lambert , UK Green coordinator of the employment committee, said:

"This Committee has a duty to safeguard employment and social standards in Europe. Today it has done just that. While not averse to the benefits that cross border provision of services can bring, the Greens want to make sure that standards are driven upwards. We have not fought over decades for quality services and high employment standards just to see them be removed by an ill thought out proposal which has undergone no thorough impact assessment."

"With these votes, the employment committee has sent a clear signal to reject challenges to social and consumer protection. It remains to be seen whether Parliament as a whole will back these measures when further votes take place later this year."

German Green member of the committee, Elisabeth Schroedter, added:

"The Greens are particularly satisfied with the support received for our proposals to launch a harmonisation process for authorisation schemes, requirements on services providers and the access to and exercise of cross-border provision of services."

"We call on the Commission and the Council to follow today's vote by preserving public services, leaving away the country of origin principle and supporting upwards European harmonisation of the rules regarding provision of commercial services."

[ENDS]

Notes to editors: The "Bolkestein Directive" was proposed by the European Commission in January 2004 aiming to achieve the free movement of services within the EU. However, its definition and scope were so wide so as to throw up a myriad of unanswered questions about how to prevent a spiralling drop in service quality and employment standards if the Directive were ever implemented. Now concerned MEPs from all political Groups are faced with the task of drafting amendments to cement the cracks in this unsatisfactory proposal.