Schussel argues brand new services law needed
24.10.05 @ 17:41
BRUSSELS - Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schussel has suggested a completely new law on the liberalisation of services should be tabled, replacing the current controversial proposal.
Mr Schussel has suggested work on the services directive should start from scratch (Photo: EUobserver.com)
The Austrian leader put forward the idea at a social summit on Monday (24 October) with employers' and trade unions' representatives as well as officials from the current and forthcoming EU presidency countries - the UK, Austria and Finland respectively.
"The Austrian chancellor said we should rather have a completely new text of the services directive, and he received a lot of support from trade unions for it", John Monks, the general secretary of the European trade unions confederation (ETUC) told the EUobserver.
"However, the employers organisations were less supportive of such an idea", he said.
The meeting comes just before this week's summit at Hampton Court, where EU leaders are expected to discuss the challenges Europe is facing due to globalisation and its ageing population.
The liberalisation of the internal market in services - which accounts for about 70 percent of the bloc's economic output - has been referred to by the UK presidency as one of the major instruments to boost Europe's growth.
But the actual draft legislation put forward by the commission, has encountered severe opposition in both the European parliament and among member states.
MEPs were originally supposed to vote on the directive in September, but the vote has been delayed several times.
Internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy has previously said that the commission is ready to put forward changes to the law, once the parliamentarians give their opinion on the matter.
However, the idea to issue a brand new version of the directive while the previous one is still in the legislative pipeline "is a bit awkward and not very productive", the commissioner's spokesman said, reacting to Mr Schussel's suggestion.
"It would be an insult to the European parliament if we let it discuss a bill and at the same time started drafting a new proposal", he added.
Austria itself will begin its six-month period at the bloc's helm in January.
The commission is the only EU institution with the power to propose legislation, with member states being able to advise the commission to legislate in some policy areas.
