Government to examine impact of EU service directive
Kimmo Kiljunen
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Kimmo Sasi
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Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) says that the government will submit a report to the Grand Committee of Parliament on the impact that the planned EU service directive might have on Finland.
The move comes after debate was sparked in the Grand Committee on whether or not the directive might undercut the interests of Finnish service sector employees by bringing a flood of service employees to Finland under terms which ignore Finnish legislation and labour market rules.
The greatest sticking point from Finland’s point of view is the stipulation under which foreign entrepreneurs would be allowed to offer services in another member state on a temporary basis under the rules of the country of origin, instead of those where the work takes place.
Prime Minister Vanhanen emphasises that the general rule is that the laws and regulations of each country would apply to work that is done in that country, and that the only exceptions would be very short assignments.
The EU failed to agree on the terms of the proposed directive at its summit in March, and asked the European Commission to make a number of changes to the draft.
France has been especially concerned that the measure would favour countries with lax regulations on worker protection in the service sector. President Jacques Chirac has warned that if the directive is enacted, French voters might turn against the proposed EU constitution in the upcoming referendum.
Vanhanen said that Finland would wait to see what kinds of changes the Commission proposes, and if the Finnish government has any complaints, they will be brought forward in the autumn.
A leading Parliamentary critic of the draft directive is Social Democratic MP Kimmo Kiljunen, who has been joined by many Left Alliance Parliamentarians. Kiljunen also has some backers among his fellow Social Democrats, although SDP Parliamentary group chairman Jouni Backman says that a majority of the members of the group are in favour of the government’s proposal to accept the directive.
"The original proposal is often misunderstood. It is claimed that it would be possible to come here to do any job under any conditions. Even under the original proposal, the main rule would be that things would operate under Finnish stipulations", Backman says.
The opposition National Coalition Party has backed the government’s view, saying that placing excessively strict conditions on service companies would not improve EU services, or create new jobs.
MP Kimmo Sasi sees statements by some leftists as reflecting a "disgusting populist xenophobia, sounding just like the policies of the Austrian right-wing populist Jörg Haider".
Sasi attributes the statements made by the French President to his fear that the directive might politically benefit right-wing populists like Jean-Marie Le Pen.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 7.4.2005 - TODAY |
 Government to examine impact of EU service directive
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