Horse-trading brings sides closer on divisive Services Directive

FEW bodies set out to design a horse and end up with a camel as effectively as the European Parliament.

This week's Strasbourg session offers a classic example with the first reading of the Services Directive.

It's the ideal kind of directive for the parliament as MEPs can divide easily on ideological lines, with the Socialists defending workers' status quo and the European People's Party defending employers.

It might have passed without much notice were it not for a number of events. After all, no commissioners objected when it was produced by Fritz Bolkestein two years ago.

But French trade unions probed its implications and decided it would destroy the French social model. It was partly responsible for the French voting against the constitution last May.

The no vote in two of the founding countries, France and Holland, increased criticism of the EU as suffering from a democratic deficit, offering the Parliament an opportunity to illustrate it could represent the interests of constituents.

The amount of interest in the debate was illustrated by the massive number of amendments over 1,600 lodged to the directive, which has just 40 articles.

The amendments have been reduced to just over 400 but the real work was carried out between the political groups and in the corridors of the parliament.

The EPP insisted the services market must be opened up completely, allowing competition between the labour of the east and the more expensive labour of the west.

The Socialists have been adamant this must not happen as it will undermine the wages and conditions of workers in the more wealthy member states.

The new member states want to see their companies and workers able to compete without barriers in the rich western markets.

However, their trade unions marched in solidarity with colleagues throughout the 25 member states.

Most governments and employers in the west were united in demanding a very liberal market in both public and private services.

The talking will continue right up to the last minute before voting in the parliament on Thursday morning. But gradually all sides are inching closer to one another with horse-trading on clauses and language.

In the end, the European Court of Justice will be making many of the decisions and will eventually turn the murky grey camel of the Services Directive into some kind of horse.