Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-01-11-Speech-2-201"
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"en.20050111.12.2-201"2
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".
The Commission wishes to stress that removing internal market barriers is not tantamount to undermining the quality of services, or that the Services Directive will lead to social dumping – quite the contrary.
As regards the protection of workers, the proposed directive does not affect the existing Community
namely the Posted Workers’ Directive from 1996. This directive provides that posted workers, including temporary workers, enjoy, irrespective of the law applicable to the employment relationship, a number of important protective provisions concerning working conditions in force in the Member State where the worker is posted. Therefore, companies cannot use this proposal in order to establish themselves in low-wage countries to circumvent the social protection of the host Member State.
In addition, the proposed directive reinforces the control of posted workers because it establishes a system of cooperation between Member States and obliges the country of origin of the service provider to assist the authorities of the host Member State in the supervision of working conditions. The proposed directive will thus help to prevent social dumping.
The Commission does not share the concern that the directive will lead to a 'race to the bottom' in service provision. First, the country of origin principle only applies to the temporary cross-border provision of services. For services provided via an establishment in another Member State – for example a hospital or a home for the elderly – the service provider will have to comply with all the relevant rules in that Member State.
Second, the country of origin principle is embedded in harmonisation and enhanced administrative cooperation between Member States. Moreover, a number of derogations from the country of origin principle cover, for instance, the applicable working conditions in the context of posting of workers, consumer contracts, health and safety on building sites and public health.
Finally, the Commission wishes to stress that the proposed directive does not require the liberalisation or privatisation of services which are currently provided at national, regional or local level by the public sector or public entities. Neither does the proposal affect the freedom of the Member States to define what they consider to be services of general economic interest and how they should be organised or financed.
Furthermore, it does not affect Member States' ability to maintain appropriate regulations concerning the quality, availability and performance of services of general interest, or other regulations ensuring consumer and user rights. It is also important to note that the proposal does not prejudge the work on, or the outcome of, specific Community initiatives, in particular the follow-up to the White Paper on services of general interest.
The Commission has committed to a genuine dialogue with both co-legislators and interested parties with a view to finding solutions to specific areas of concern. To date, the need for a major step forward in opening the internal market has not yet been validly contested.
I am confident that also the honourable Member would like to see companies, consumers and workers enjoy the benefits of an open and competitive integrated services market. We are all aware of the economic and social challenges facing the European Union. Bearing in mind the importance of the services sector, the proposed directive will contribute significantly to addressing these challenges."@en1
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