12.01.06

Neuer Termin (15.02.) für Abstimmung im Europa-Parlament

Beim ersten Arbeitstreffen der österreichischen EU-Präsidentschaft mit der Kommission wurde entschieden, dass die Bolkestein-Richtlinie die oberste Priorität der EU-Politik für 2006 darstellt. Die Kommission will die Umsetzung nochmals beschleunigen, und nunmehr den geänderten Entwurf nicht erst im April oder Mai zur 2. Lesung einreichen, wie bisher erwartet, sondern schon zum Frühjahrsgipfel am 23.-24. März, damit die Bolkestein-Richtlinie bis zum Ende der österreichsichen Präsidentschaft in trockenen Tüchern ist.

Ferner wurde jetzt der genaue Abstimmungstermin am 15 (sic!) Februar festgelegt, während am 14. lediglich die Debatten stattfinden.

Mehr Infos unter http://www.euractiv.com/Article?tcmuri=tcm:31-151452-16&type=News .

In Kürze:

Führende Persönlichkeiten des österreichischen Ratsvorsitzes, der Kommission und des Europäischen Parlaments sind sich zumindest in einer Sache einig: Die Dienstleistungsrichtlinie wird das wichtigste Thema des neuen Jahres.
Kurznachrichten:

During the first working meeting between the Austrian Presidency and the Commission, on 9 January 2006, Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that, after two years of discussions on the matter, the Commission was now going to prioritise the Services Directive. More precisely, Mr. Barroso said that after the European Parliament's 15 February vote the Commission was going to come forward with a new proposal in due time before the Spring Council, on March 23-24, and not in April or May, as had been expected until now. The Commission and the Austrian Presidency think that this change in the schedule will make it possible to reach an agreement on the directive before the end of the Austrian Presidency, on 30 June.

The Austrian minister for the economy, Martin Bartenstein, welcomed the Commission president's announcement and said it was giving "new dynamism [...] with regard to the services directive". He also said, however, that a precondition for the success of the Commission initiative would be that it convincingly excludes wage and social dumping. He said it must allow for the exclusion of services related for instance to health and social welfare, but nonetheless for the inclusion of services of general interest.

Asked by the Parliament's press service on their priorities for the new year, the leaders of the Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL (left-wing) groups said the services directive was most important to them, even over and above enlargement and the Constitutional Treaty. Francis Wurtz, the Chairman of the Confederal Group of the European United Left and Nordic Green Left, said services will be the key issue in 2006: "The services directive will certainly give rise to debate." Monica Frassoni, who co-chairs the Greens and European Free Alliance group said that "for 2006, the services directive is crucial. This is the occasion for the EU to choose between a social or neo-liberal orientation."The Parliament's plenary will debate the Services Directive on February 14, with the vote scheduled for February 15. Trade Unions and NGOs are preparing two large-scale demonstrations in Strasbourg to coincide with these dates.