Strasbourg, 22/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - Compromise amendments on the programme of the EP's Work Committee resolution are "being" negotiated, the President of the Socialist group Martin Schulz told the press on Tuesday, recognising nonetheless that there were "substantial differences on some important points". In his view, there "should not be a compromise at any price". Competitiveness should not "be achieved to the detriment of social protection", and "we are waiting for the Commission to have a single message, not a whole range", he said. For his group and the French socialists in particular, two points of the PSE resolution are not negotiable, said one MEP in the course of the afternoon. The group hopes in particular to maintain its position on the “services directive” and on a framework directive on public services, and the negotiations were at an impasse on Tuesday. Earlier on, the President of the PPE-DE group, Hans-Gert Poettering had announced a compromise text for his group, the ALDE and the UEN. At this stage, "there is no agreement with the socialists, because their vision of the economy is different to ours", he said, hoping to be able to achieve a sufficient majority on Thursday.
On the details, Mr Poettering insisted in particular on the financing of the Wold Youth Days which are due to take place in Cologne, a point which figures in the Commission's working programme but the financing of which was rejected by the liberals in the budget vote in December 2004. "We think we should support this event", said Mr Poettering. Martin Schulz is also "personally in favour of these meetings", which he called a "mini-Woodstock at the cathedral".