Congress press release

On the eve of a crucial meeting of European Union (EU) leaders, the Irish EU Presidency pledged to the European Federation of Public service Unions (EPSU) that public services and basic rights would not be “diminished.”

Dick Roche, the Irish Minister for European Affairs, one of the Irish EU Presidency’s key figures, gave this undertaking at EPSU’s four yearly Congress in Stockholm today (16 June).

In so doing he was addressing the concerns of 8 million public service workers and citizens of the EU, represented by EPSU. The minister was responding to questions put to him on two areas of prime concern for the Brussels-based trade union body by Congress delegates. The first was on the Bolkestein draft Directive on Services in the Internal Market, while the second was on social rights as defined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which has been integrated into the Constitutional Treaty. Some member states have been seeking to dilute the legal obligations entailed. Christian Zahn, Ver.di, Germany, appealed to the Minister not to concede “to a lowest common denominator” approach to the Charter and to insure that it is part and parcel of the constitution.”

The Minister said: “I believe that the Charter of Fundamental Rights is absolutely crucial and that it will apply to EU institutions and Member States, regarding EU constitutional law. He went on to say that discussion of the Charter’s preamble text “will have no impact, nor will it diminish”. Discussions surrounding the Charter have been about “clarification”, and are not “an attempt to diminish the text”, which he considered to be “a fantastic document” .

On the controversial Services Directive, the Minister pointed out that Member States, particularly Sweden and Finland, raised concerns about the impact on education, health and other key public services of the proposed law. These were addressed, Mr. Roche said, with “solutions reached that you would be content with”, assuring the Congress: “You will have no concerns.”

The Minister was presented with the Congress resolutions on both the Draft Constitution, and the Services Directive, by EPSU General Secretary, Ms. Carola Fischbach-Pyttel (photo attached).

Congress press releases and a Congress bulletin will appear daily on the EPSU website: www.epsu.org The Congress takes place at Folkets Hus, Box 70471 SE-107 26 Stockholm, Sweden

Telephone: +46 8 506 166 00 For further information contact Brian Synnott, EPSU

Mobile: +32 474 98 96 75 e.mail: bsynnott@epsu.org

Press enquiries during the Congress period can also be made to: Bernard Conlon

Tel: +46 8 50616809 Mobile +44 (0)7837891233

Notes for Editors:

About EPSU www.epsu.org

The European Federation of Public Services Unions is the largest Federation of the ETUC and represents 8 million workers, providing services to the public in health and social care, local, regional and central government, and utilities in energy, water and waste.

EPSU Secretariat, Rue Royale 45, box 1, 1000 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 250 10 80