Ibec says proposals are good for business

IRELAND: Business and employers' group Ibec last night welcomed the publication of new proposals on the contentious EU services directive, expressing hope that it would finally create a true EU internal market.

Maria Cronin, Ibec director of European and social affairs, said the proposed rules would "hopefully provide the basis for the creation of a single and workable EU services market".

She said that, despite the existence of the EU's internal market, Irish service providers still face "major obstacles" when marketing their products and services in the rest of the Union. "The common opportunities that would be created by a genuine and dynamic single EU services market are therefore enormous," Ms Cronin added.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), which had expressed particularly strong concerns about the original draft directive, said last night that it was too early to judge the new version.

A spokesman for Ictu said, however, that it was good to see that Mr McCreevy had brought the new draft forward "so quickly". He said Ictu needed to study the matter in further detail before coming to a view.

Unions had worried that the original draft would have prompted companies to move their headquarters to those member states with minimal protections for workers.

This "country of origin" rule would have seen employees treated according to these minimal protections regardless of where they actually worked, the unions said.

The issue was highlighted last November when Ictu organised a march in Dublin in support of staff at Irish Ferries.

Yesterday's version of the legislation removes the country of origin principle, as well as watering down many other controversial aspects of the original proposal.