Madam, - The "Directive on the Internal Market in Services" might not sound very exciting, but it could be one of the most important EU decisions for some time.
This directive, proposed by Ireland's member of the European Commission, Charlie McCreevy, is based on the "country of origin" principle. This means that services can be provided under the rules and standards of the country where a company is established, rather than the country where the service is provided.
This is a recipe for a "race to the bottom", as we have seen in the Irish Ferries dispute, forcing countries to lower conditions to attract investment. It is even easier for a service company to move its head office to another country, and therefore follow the rules of the new country, than for a manufacturing company to move its factories.
The threat to wages and conditions from this has been well highlighted by the trade unions, particularly since the Irish ferries dispute. Social NGOs are also concerned about the impact on social services such as childcare, support services for disabled people, adult education, social housing, homes for elderly people or ambulance services, particularly for those on low incomes who cannot afford to "go private".
The directive, as currently written, would impose the same "free market" rules on social services as on commercial services such as banking or consultancy.
EU member-states now have legislation and regulations on social services. Far from aiming to place barriers in the way of cross-border provision of services, they are necessary to protect the users of these social services, who are often particularly vulnerable, and to ensure social services are provided in a way that contributes to social cohesion. They define standards and obligations for the quality and content of services to guarantee their accessibility, high quality and continuity.
This directive will undermine and overrule these regulations. While the European Commission has made a number of welcome amendments in the face of public protest, they are not enough. Liberalising the market in social services before setting minimum social standards across Europe is extremely dangerous. It also pre-empts the Commission's own plans to develop policy on social services, which will come out later in the year.
We call on our MEPs and our Government to insist on the exemption of social services from the scope of the directive. - Yours, etc,
JOE GALLAGHER, Chairperson; KAY LYNCH, Vice Chair; ROBIN HANAN, Co-ordinator, European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) Ireland, Dublin 1.