Council backs Parliament on Services[fr] 

At the 22 April 2006 informal Competitiveness Council, Austrian Minister for Economics and Labour Martin Bartenstein said that "the member states have shown broad support for [the] Commission proposal and also for the determination of the Austrian Presidency to bring the matter to a conclusion by the summer of this year." He said the Austrian Presidency was still planning for a Council Common position to be presented at the next session of the Competitiveness Council on 29 May 2006 - an "ambitious goal", as he admitted. 

Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy urged member states and Parliament alike to come to a conclusion quickly: "The Directive now has the wind behind it, and if we do not make use of this to reach our goal, our children and grandchildren will still be tinkering with the Services Directive." 

The Parliament's Rapporteur, Evelyne Gebhardt (PSE, Germany), who was also present in the Graz Council meeting, said: "Now that Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has presented a text which by and large follows the version adopted by the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers has given the go-ahead for the Services Directive." She added, however, that "all that is needed now are some corrections on social matters".

Malcolm Harbour (EPP-ED, UK), an MEP on the Parliament's Internal Market Committee who took part in the meeting in Graz, said that "we have a clear commitment from the Informal Council and the Presidency that Parliament's draft text as voted in the first reading will be the basis of the Council's common position envisaged for 29 May". He added that the Council's commitment paved the way for an early political agreement on the disputed Directive. 

However, while the Austrian Presidency seems to be determined to come to a final agreement before the end of its term on 30 June, others see an agreement coming under the Finnish Presidency. Hungarian Conservative MEP Jószef Szajer said that following the discussions in Graz an agreement would be possible "after the summer break".