15/04/2005 (Agence Europe) - British Conservative Malcolm Harbour, shadow rapporteur for the EPP-ED group on services in the internal market, has published a press release in which he criticises the “arbitrary” exclusion of the principle of country of origin from the legislative proposal of the rapporteur, the German Social Democrat Evelyne Gebhardt (EUROPE 8928). “The principle of country of origin is crucial for the functioning of the internal market”, he said. It “must not be removed from the proposal”, or this could “fatally weaken the entire directive”. Malcolm Harbour also denounces the rapporteur's intention to exclude “almost all sectors” from the scope of the directive. He feels that the introduction of “minimum European standards” would lead to “too much regulation” and “distortions of the national markets for services”.