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21-04-2005:
"Bolkestein"-Directive: positive
signals from the European Parliament It was with great satisfaction that the CESI noted the first draft report from Evelyne Gebhardt, European Parliament rapporteur for the proposal for a directive concerning services in the Internal Market. CESI's General Secretary, Helmut Müllers, observed: “the rapporteur's proposed modifications correspond to a number of CESI's key demands. This is predominantly the case as far as the country of origin principle, to be replaced by the principle of mutual recognition, is concerned, as well as the removal of services of general interest from the ambit of the directive. The same applies to the sensitive area of the health care system.“ The independent trade unions adopted a statement to voice their opinion on cutting administrative barriers in the services area, in order to use the growth potential in this area to create new jobs. This would involve slashing red tape and creating more transparency and legal clarity for service providers and consumers. However, the CESI regards the Commission's original draft with the utmost scepticism and disapproval concerning a series of key points, as it would lead to competition over labour costs and social standards. “Liberalising services at the expense of the employees is out of the question for the CESI“, said the General Secretary. “We hope that further debates in the European Parliament will continue along this course.“ The opinion can be downloaded from the "Documents" section. |
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