Brussels, 18/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - Reacting to the European Commission's adoption of new draft legislation to liberalise port services (see Europe of 13 October, p.11), MEPs in the GUE/NGL and Greens/EFA groups rejected the plans. The Greens accuse the Commission of trying to sell old wine in new bottles. In November 2003, the European Parliament rejected a previous European Commission proposal on the port services issue and the Greens note that the issue of self-handing, the granting of loading rights to untrained ship hands in European ports - is a major problem in the revised proposal, which would 'have dire consequences for both the social situation of dock workers and for safety and security in our ports.' The GUE/NGL group believes the new legislation does not meet the demands expressed in the debate at the European Parliament and in society at large. Noting that it only took the new Commission two weeks to lodge the new draft legislation, the President of the GUE/NGL group, Francis Wurtz, said that if it was applied, the proposal would have serious consequences in terms of employment and maritime safety. He said the Commission had adopted an aggressive position, determined to liberalise, come what may, and this will lead to justified reaction by social stakeholders