EPSU to look to European Parliament to resolve Council Services Directive contradictions
Press communication
(31 May, Brussels) In the light of the Council of Ministers vote on the services directive on 29 May, EPSU will be pushing hard for the European Parliament to resolve many of the outstanding problems when it returns for second reading in September. “The Services Directive still contains many problems for Europe’s public service workers, and in the context of the wider EU legislative agenda, there are some flat-out contradictions contained in the text,” said EPSU General Secretary, Carola Fischbach-Pyttel.
The three main problems for EPSU are the following:
- Services of General Interest (SGI/SGEI), including social services are still covered by the directive.
- The sections on labour law have excluded any reference to the EU charter of fundamental rights.
- The possibility for Member States to maintain necessary requirements is further curtailed.
The contradictions embodied in the services text include the fact that social services of general interest are currently part of an EU debate specifically designed to define their characteristics. The Council has almost willfully ignored this process by including social services within the scope of the directive. Similarly the debate clarifying services of general interest is ongoing and such a core debate on ensuring quality public services in the EU, should be given time.
Ms. Fishbach-Pyttel added that; “it is particularly frustrating that despite the declared commitment of the Council to the ‘spirit of the EU constitutional treaty’ there is no recognition of the charter of fundamental rights, nor of the right for member states to designate their services of general interest. It is as if the Council is operating in a parallel world where promises to reconnect to EU citizens by protecting public services does not have to matched with any action”.
EPSU will coordinate with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) to ensure that the European Parliament’s second reading strongly endorses; reference to the Charter; exclusion of SGI/SGEI; and a reasonable authorisation regime based on clear criteria.
For more information please contact EPSU Communications Officer Brian Synnott, bsynnott@epsu.org, gsm +32 474 98 96 75
EPSU is the European Federation of Public Service Unions. It is the largest federation of the ETUC. 8 million public service workers and their 213 trade unions are members. They organise workers in health and social services, local and national administration, energy, water, waste.
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