Brussels, 08/03/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Monday, speaking on behalf of the Luxembourg presidency, Jeannot Krecké, gave a low-down at the end of Competitiveness Council, on the discussions on the very controversial draft services directive in the internal market. The Luxembourg minister of the economy and external trade explained that, “the directive as it stands will not be applied. The text will be changed”. He indicated that there had been a consensus among his colleagues on the need to complete the services single market and on the “very positive aspects” that the text contains. According to Krecké, the legislative process has not finished and that it would be pointless to leave things pending. He drew a parallel between the services directive and the adoption on the same day of the Council's common position on the directive on patenting computer implemented inventions (EUROPE yesterday p 9). He indicated that “if we don't shift, the judges will shift for us”.
During lunch, ministers held an informal discussion with Charlie McCreevy. The European Commissioner for the internal market repeated what he had announced on Thursday on the re-implementation of the process programmed for the draft services directive. The directive will be expected to ensure that social dumping is avoided, that health and publicly funded services of general interest are excluded. It will guarantee legal security, notably in regard to international private law. McCreevy indicated that the future European legislation could not allow social dumping. He added that it was up to the Council and European Parliament to act and that the draft directive was in the hands of the EP which had all the time it needed. Earlier in the day, Claudie Haigneré, French minister delegate for European affairs explained that at the Council there was overall convergence on the notion that Europe had to provide security for workers.
In its contribution to the European Spring Council, the Competitiveness Council puts services in first place among the priorities that will help develop and deepen the internal market. It considered that the absence of a fully operational internal services market would constitute a “considerable brake on growth potential, competitiveness and job creation in the EU economy”. It took note of the Commission's intention to work in a constructive way with the European Parliament, the Council and other parties concerns in the last stage until adopt in a first reading by the European Parliament. “Last stage” means the period for informal collaboration between the institutions in preparation of the parliamentary amendments introduced by the working party, in which the Commission and Council participate. On the initiative of its rapporteur, Evelyene Gebhardt (German Social Democrat), the European Parliament has set up a work group in which the Commission and Council participate. This work group is not open to the public and will meet up for the first time on 17 March.
On Monday, Gerhard Schröder, at the end of the informal meeting with Jacques Chirac (EUROPE yesterday pp 5 and 8), said that the draft should not just be amended but be radically transformed or that a new version be produced so that people in “our countries” were not plunged into fear and anxiety. Jerzy Hausner, the Polish minister for the economy reacted sharply to Mr Schröder and Mr Chirac's declarations in a Competitiveness Council fringe meeting. According to Reuters he declared that it was impossible to be for the Lisbon Agenda but against the services directive. Hausner is accusing some European governments of giving in to pressure from local lobby groups to the detriment of economic growth.