16/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - On the sidelines of the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg the United Left group announced its intention to put the social issues at the heart of the debate on the proposal for "regulated competition" in port services, present on Wednesday by the European Commission (see EUROPE of 15 February, p.7): "The opening of port to competition risks bringing into question the missions of public services and to have negative repercussions on ecological standards, safety and social conditions", felt the GUE in a press release, while adding that "the changes to the port structures risk also leading to the dissolution of docker pools that have been put in place in the ports of many Member States in order to fight against the insecurity of their work". The group indicates that it has planned meetings with the pilot unions (pilots responsible in the operations for the entry and exiting of ports) and the International Dockers Committee.