Brussels, 15/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - In an open letter published on 15 April in the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir, the European Socialists are concerned by the fact that in its manifesto for the European elections in June, the European Liberal Democrats and Reform party (ELDR) has called for a reinforcement and extension of the single market in the EU fields of energy, postal services, the railways and healthcare (EUROPE 9881). "How do you propose to use the single market to ensure that the services remain of high quality, affordable and accessible to all?", asked the President of the Party of European Socialists (PES), Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, and the Belgian Socialist Elio di Rupo and Caroline Genez in their open letter (our translation). The PES strongly believes that "the logic of the market place should not dominate healthcare services", which constitute a "public service". If the single market is extended in the field of postal services and the railways, "who will take on future investment?", asked the authors of the open letter. In 2006, the Socialists spoke out for healthcare services and social services to be excluded from the directive on services (Bolkestein), they point out. The PES remains committed to maintaining the integrity of the public services, but regrets that "the manifesto of the Liberals for the European elections contains no commitment of this kind (...). This is the reason for our concern", Mr Rasmussen concluded. (H.B./transl.fl)