Services Directive Vote Postponed

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

07 October 2005

It emerged this week that a European Parliament vote on the services directive (often known as the "Bolkestein directive" after the Commissioner who first proposed it), which was scheduled for 4 and 5 October, has been postponed to 21 November.

This means that the first-reading plenary vote due at the end of October has also been put back and will probably now take place in January, under the Austrian presidency of the EU.

The Internal Market Committee was due to vote this week on a report drafted by Evelyne Gebhardt, but following a series of closed-door meetings between the committee and various political groups to try to reduce the record number of amendments (at least 1,600) and hammer out a compromise on key points, the main bones of contention are still unchanged.

In a statement, the European Parliament explained that:

"First, there is the country of origin principle (proposed by the European Commission and defended by the ALDE and EPP-ED groups) by which a firm can provide a service in a Member State other than its own on the basis of the rules applicable in its country of origin."

"Second, there is the distinction between the general right for a firm legally established in its country of origin to provide a service in a Member State other than its own and the actual provision of such a service (the latter would be subject to the legislation of the country where the service is provided); this distinction was proposed by the rapporteur as part of a compromise package."

"And last but not least, there is the question whether services of general economic interest should be excluded from the scope of the directive, an idea which covers public services provided in accordance with market rules (broadly speaking, by a profit-making private company which is subject to the rules on competition)".

A "last chance" meeting on 3 October failed to produce a consensus.

Two rival compromise proposals were on the table: the first by Ms Gebhardt, which had already been discussed, and the other by the ALDE, EPP-ED and UEN groups.

The chair of the Internal Market Committee, Philip Whitehead decided that the amendments put forward by the three political groups were tabled too late for the rapporteur and other MEPs to take them on board. He therefore concluded that the proposals could not serve as the basis for a compromise and that it was better to delay the vote "so as not to discredit our committee".

Mr Whitehead argued that a postponement would enable the political groups to prepare their compromise proposals better and thus reduce the number of amendments. The groups have until 12 October to put forward new proposals. This decision was accepted by an overwhelming majority of members of the committee (40 in favour, 2 against, 1 abstention).

Recommended