EU ‘must have a single services market to compete’

EUROPE must have a single market in services for it to compete globally.

And it is far better to have debate on the Services Directive rather than end up with “a Picasso which might remain on a shelf”, EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said yesterday.

Compromise has already been reached at European Parliament level and Mr McCreevy said he is hopeful the directive, which will basically make it easier for service providers to set up in another country, will get through the other hurdles.

“We don’t have the luxury in Europe of standing still,” he said yesterday as he launched an MBA programme at Waterford Institute of Technology.

“It would be a mistake to believe that putting up barriers and leaving things as they are will mean everything will be hunky dory. Any country which has tried to remain as they have seen their companies go out of business.

“The Services Directive will have an impact. It doesn’t take a mathematician to work out that if 70% of EU GDP consists of services and you don’t have economic growth and high unemployment, then you should concentrate your activity on services.

“The Services Directive as such is not going to be the Picasso that was originally envisaged. But it is going to be a major step forward, if we get it through,” he said.

The commissioner, whose idea it was to set up the Special Savings Incentive Accounts, said they have helped re-foster a culture of saving for a rainy day.

“The main purpose was to get people back into the whole habit of saving.

“Though we have had great economic success, those old habits of saving seemed to have disappeared. The SSIAs have shown that with the proper incentives, people will save. I would encourage people to continue to save. I think people will make sensible decisions with them in the main.”

He said Ireland’s decision to open up to foreign migrants was a good one. It has allowed us to enjoy growth far above the European average, he added.

“The decision by the Irish government to open up our borders on May 1, 2004, has been positive. Since we opened up our borders, Ireland’s unemployment rate has remained low.

“We took in proportionately more than any other country. Our economy grew in 2004 by in the order of 5%. It grew in 2005 by the order of about 5% and more people are in work than ever before.

“I can’t see any empirical evidence to suggest that it has been anything other than a great success. Our economy is thriving, shops, businesses and bars are booming. There are more jobs being created. Ireland has been an example of what can be done.”