Economics Minister and President of the Council Martin Bartenstein welcomed the vote in the European Parliament at first reading. The broad consensus with just under 400 votes was a good basis for the further work by the European Commission and the Council. He said the result “sets the course for further negotiations".
Bartenstein thanked the two major political groups, the EEP-ED and the PSE, for the consensus-oriented work which had made this compromise possible. The ball was now in the Commission’s court. In this context, he welcomed the Commission’s stated intention to present the main points for a political agreement very soon after the vote in the European Parliament and in time for the March summit.
According to Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, the proposal for the Services Directive would be on the table by the end of April at the latest. Bartenstein said the proposal should largely reflect the outcome of the vote in the European Parliament.
At all events, Austria would discuss this important dossier with the European social partners on 9 March and with the European Economic Affairs Ministers on 13 March. It would also be an important item on the agenda for the spring summit. As soon as the Commission’s amended proposal was available, Austria would take forward the work in Council with a view to achieving political agreement.
The Services Directive had wrongly been turned into a symbol of the gulf between the European Union and its citizens. In actual fact, this directive was an opportunity for more growth and hence more jobs in Europe. Some 70 percent of value-added in the EU and two-thirds of all jobs depended on the services sector. The objective was to create a European market for services while at the same time excluding wage and social dumping. The Union now had to send a decisive signal that it was ready to take the right steps for more growth and jobs.
Contact:
Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour
Minister's Office: Holger Fürst, Tel: (43-1) 71100-5193
Press section: Harald Hoyer, Tel: (+43-1) 71100-2058
mailto:presseabteilung@bmwa.gv.at
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