Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-04-13-Speech-3-035"
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"en.20050413.2.3-035"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it is surprising how impending elections can sometimes make politicians change tack and even get them to deny their own principles. For example, I take some malicious delight in the truly sad soap opera that is being played out in Europe in response to the Bolkestein directive. After all, before 1 May 2004, we did not hear anybody complain about the liberalisation of services, because the Dutch commissioner’s plans simply fitted in with the European logic that service providers too should be able to work freely in the EU. In order to accommodate President Chirac, though, and to ensure that he does not suffer a humiliating defeat in the referendum on 29 May, it is now reported that the directive – having, of course, been approved by the socialists Mr Lamy and Mr Busquin – will be amended again, if not rewritten. Now it turns out that the directive is being put on ice for the time being so as not to give the French ‘no’ camp any more trump cards.
The European Left have discovered that social dumping puts the jobs of their own people at risk. It has also rediscovered the importance of upholding national and sovereign interests. The French Left, again faithful to the traditions of the pre-war
has rediscovered the ‘own people first’ principle, which it formerly abominated, and rejects the directive’s country of origin principle. It remains to be seen, of course, whether this hypocrisy will be enough to prevent the ‘no’ camp from enjoying a landslide victory on 29 May. Contrary to what the luminaries in the Commission may think, the electorate is not stupid. A similar scenario is unfolding in Germany; today’s
reports that the Social Democrat Chancellor, anxious as he is about the elections taking place next month in North Rhine-Westphalia, wants to impose stringent measures in order to avoid cheap labour from Eastern Europe taking jobs from the Germans. Who would ever have thought this former internationalist Marxist capable of such a thing? We can do no other than congratulate him."@en1
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