October 2006 (Internal Market Committee)IMCO vote: The Greens and other left wing parties tabled amendments to improve the current Services Proposal in the IMCO Committee but they were blocked by the other political groups as the Council had already announced it would not accept amendments to its common position.

In particular the Greens wanted amendments on the following:
· Labour law not to be affected
· Social services (calling for an open list of exclusion lot a limited one)
· Better consumer protection
· Clarity on control held by the Member State of destination
· Exclusion of all services of general interest not just "non-economic"

The failure of these amendments to be passed means that there is still a lack of clarity in the final text. In particular, services of general interest are on the whole included and there is no reference to the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. Playing "yes man" to the Council has put the Parliament in a worrying position with regards to the co-decision procedure.

We can however,take comfort from the gains made after the first reading which the Council have taken on board:

· Deletion of the country of origin principle
· Assurances that labour law, healthcare, social services and posted workers would not be affected (although there is now a lack of clarity on this).

November 2006 - the vote: In contrast to the previous Plenary vote, there was a lack of political mobilisation calling for better public service protection prior to the second reading. The Greens re-tabled their amendments but were aware that the bigger groups were likely to block them in the final vote. The Greens therefore had to vote against the final package, not because they are against the free movement of services but because services will be put at risk under this Directive. The text went through Parliament largely unaltered. Both the PSE (left) and PPE (right) are claiming a victory - which in itself proves how ambiguous the final package is.

After the vote Jean submitted a written explanation to Parliament.

What next? After the formal adoption by the Council, the EU procedure will finish. The Greens will keep a close eye on how the Directive is transposed in Member States with the possibility of a revision process a few years after the Directive enters into force.

Green Group Press Release: Services Directive: Back-slapping on Services agreement cannot mask the problems the directive will cause