The EL was present on the 12th september in the European Parliament at the reunion concerning the Bolkestein directive organised by the GUE/NGL Group. This reunion consisted in coordinating our efforts togheter with the many movements of civil society that strive against the directive on services. Here is the common declaration and plan for action:
Let's go on fighting the Bolkestein directive!
The common declaration :
Against the Bolkestein directive, we need to mobilize!
The movements and organizations that met on the 12th of September in Brussels reaffirm their total opposition to the proposed directive on the internal market of Services, known and referred to as Bolkestein Directive. They ask the withdrawal of it.
More in particular, they oppose the principle of the country of origin and any other principle that goes in the same direction.
They demand on the contrary a process of harmonization the way up, to avoid social and tax-dumping, the undermining of consumer rights and of public health standards, or any downgrading of environmental norms.
In any event, they ask that public services and the common goods of humanity be excluded from any process of liberalization or of opening to competition.
They agreed to launch a common European process of mobilization:
- the first stage will be the 15th of October, when we will organize a decentralized European day of action; - they will organize a European initiative in Strasbourg the day the directive will be discussed in the plenary of the European Parliament, and they will watch closely at that occasion the vote of any member of the EP; - they will mobilize when the directive will be discussed by the European Council.
They launch an appeal to all organizations of the social movement in Europe to take part in this battle.