Today's Date:

By its vote on 16 February on the proposed Services Directive, the European Parliament has expressed its wish to see the internal services market established with due regard for the rights of workers, consumers and the organization of public services. The European Parliament has voted in favour of:

- eliminating any risk of social dumping by excluding labour law from the scope of the directive;

- abolishing the country of origin principle.

- safeguarding public services;

- excluding from the scope of the directive social services and specific activities linked to the exercise of public authority [e.g. notaries] or contributing to cultural diversity.

The Prime Minister asks the European Commission to take full account of the European Parliament's opinion in the future proposal on services which it will present to the Council.

The Prime Minister reiterates that France is in favour of establishing an internal market for services, a sector in which the French economy, the world's fourth largest exporter of services, is particularly well placed.

The French government will ensure that in the next stages of the negotiations the text of the future directive maintains all the guarantees necessary to protect the rights of workers and consumers and safeguard public services./.