"Beyond the purely economic dimension of this Directive, this is about understanding whether the 25-country EU can find appropriate solutions to tackle such extremely awkward and complicated problems". José Manuel Barroso, president of the Commission, points out the most awkward aspects of the debate that was held yesterday at Strasbourg Parliament about the former Bolkestein Directive. The provision, that aims at regulating the service industry, the most substantial one in the EU economy, has been in embryo for two years, but no agreement seems to be within easy reach: doubts remain about the field of application of such Directive, the guiding principle of the provision (country of origin or destination?), its relation with collective bargaining and the nation-wide right to work. The debate brought to light different positions between and within the political groups; the directive will be voted on tomorrow, while negotiations about its 400 amendments will go on. Then, the Act will have to be submitted again to the Commission, the Council and lastly to Parliament for final approval. Yesterday, 30 thousand workers marched through the city streets, pushed by the European Confederation of Trade Unions (Ces/Etuc), which is against the original draft of the Directive and in favour of the compromise reached between the People’s Party and the Socialist Party, which mitigates the "free-trade" goals of the legislation. According to John Monks, secretary general of Ces/Etuc, "the agreement between the European People’s Party and the European Socialist Party is a good thing, as it strikes out any reference to the country of origin".
