Brussels, 03/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - Less than two weeks ahead of the vote on the Gebhardt report at first reading, British Conservative MEP Malcolm Harbour addressed the press, onto February, about the directive on services in the internal market, as shadow rapporteur on this dossier. He stressed the need to concentrate on the principal objective of the legislative proposal: the removal of barriers which prevent companies from enjoying freedom to provide services whilst "protecting essential social standards". There is "a genuine willingness to ensure that the Parliament takes a strong and well-balanced position", he insisted, urging the Austrian Presidency and the European Commission to make this proposal the number-one priority of the EU as part of the relaunch of the Lisbon strategy. "Services of general economic interest (SGEI) must be kept in the scope of the directive", said Harbour, who acknowledged that this was one of the "political differences" between the political groups, because the "socialist colleagues are not terribly enthusiastic" about this idea. The report by German Social Democrat Evelyne Gebhardt, as adopted in November 2005 by the Parliamentary committee on the internal market, keeps SGEI within the "services" directive, but does not apply the "principle of the freedom of services" to them, whereby "service providers are subject only to the provisions of the Member State of establishment with regard to access to the activity of the service and its exercise" (EUROPE 9074). According to the report, however, the directive in question does not focus on the liberalisation of SGEI, which the Member States retain the right to define, organise and finance. Harbour supports the removal of articles concerning " worker secondment " and the "funding of health care fees", two major issues, he said, but which ought to be dealt with in the context of specific European legislation. He added that the Council, together with the "majority of colleagues" in the EP, "agree". There is also a consensus to exclude the proposed directive on "security services" and "temporary employment agencies" from the scope of application.