Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-11-15-Speech-3-010"
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"en.20061115.3.3-010"2
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"Mr President, Mr Gebhardt, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, as earlier speakers have already said, today we are making internal market history.
One result of this lengthy drafting process is that the proposal for a directive has now in many ways changed during the debate. The common objective and intention to develop the internal market has nevertheless remained unchanged. The directive will open a number of doors, both to service providers and, at the same time, the receivers of services, be they consumers or businesses.
The Services Directive does not, however, represent an end to the development of the internal market in services. On the contrary, the directive is a unique step forward in the development of the internal market in viable services. It has become clear over the last few years that provisions in the Treaty are not enough by themselves to regulate with absolute clarity the internal market in services, which is the real heart of the Union. I believe that the Services Directive will provide market actors with just the sort of legal security that they have been waiting for for so long. This is the directive’s greatest added value.
The Finnish Presidency of the Council warmly welcomes the fact that today only some of the amendments are to be voted on. Of these I would like to mention the three amendments relating to comitology introduced in the plenary debate.
I can confirm the Council’s acceptance of these, and in this respect the Council is able to amend its common position. With regard to the other amendments, I hope that the common position will remain unchanged.
Mr President, I hope that Parliament will take a final and definite decision on the Services Directive today in the plenary part-session. Then the objective regarding the agreement shared by both institutions, the European Parliament and the Council, would be realised at second reading.
For almost three years the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission have been engaged in painstaking, ambitious work on the Services Directive. To be perfectly frank, the work has not always been easy and progress has sometimes been slow. We can take comfort in the fact that there is a stronger feeling of consensus here in the House today than ever before during the drafting process.
The directive represents a major European reform. No wonder, then, that there have been numerous obstacles along the road to the agreement. There have been genuine differences of opinion on its content as well as the occasional slight misunderstandings.
Although today we all want to look to the future, I would nevertheless like to raise one or two matters that arose during the drafting process. Firstly, I wish to remind everyone of the vote in Parliament last spring, the result of which might be seen as a historic compromise. Parliament managed to arrive at a compromise, in what was a very challenging political situation, which enabled the proposal for a directive to move on to a subsequent and successful drafting stage.
In this connection, I would like once again to thank the European Parliament for this compromise, especially the rapporteur, Mrs Gebhardt, the Chairman of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Mrs McCarthy, the shadow rapporteurs and numerous other Members who have worked so hard to find common solutions.
Six presidencies of the Council have been involved in the difficult task of drafting the directive. For Finland, as the country to hold the Presidency now, the situation at present is at once a welcome and demanding challenge. The Finnish Presidency has been able to take advantage of the results achieved by former presidencies, especially the Austrian Presidency. The Council’s common position since last spring has given the Presidency a strong mandate to take this matter forward.
A lot of work also went into the Council’s adoption of its common position and it involved a considerable amount of flexibility and a genuine desire for compromise. I also especially appreciate the fact that the European Parliament has shown sensitivity in the matter of a common decision here too and the added value which comes with that.
The Commission’s role in the drafting process has also been crucial. When the debate in Parliament and in the Council has been at its most vehement, the Commission has, in accordance with its fundamental role, endeavoured to use constructive arguments to take the drafting process in a sustainable direction.
Commissioner McCreevy today mentioned some delicate issues in the directive, on which the Commission has been required to adopt a position. Speaking on behalf of the Presidency, I fully support and acknowledge the Commissioner’s message, and the need for a declaration and its content. The Commissioner’s personal role during the complex drafting process was exemplary in terms of its objectivity and the way it respected the opinions of both institutions."@en1
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