24 April 2019 by CADTM , Collective , Corporate Europe Observatory , ACiDe
Trade unions and other social movements, city councilors, municipalities, regional councils and even some governments can now claim victory over a proposal tabled by the European Commission in January 2017.
The proposed Notification Procedure directive would have given the Commission veto powers over rules and regulations tabled in the area of services, and it has been clear from the beginning, that it would affect areas such as child care Care Le concept de « care work » (travail de soin) fait référence à un ensemble de pratiques matérielles et psychologiques destinées à apporter une réponse concrète aux besoins des autres et d’une communauté (dont des écosystèmes). On préfère le concept de care à celui de travail « domestique » ou de « reproduction » car il intègre les dimensions émotionnelles et psychologiques (charge mentale, affection, soutien), et il ne se limite pas aux aspects « privés » et gratuit en englobant également les activités rémunérées nécessaires à la reproduction de la vie humaine. , public services, city planning and labour rights at all levels of government – from the very local to the national level. In a vast and sensitive area of the economy, the Commission claimed the right to scrutinize draft laws well before they were adopted, to change them and to have them repealed should they be adopted in a form not in sync with strict market disciplines.
Luckily, this frontal attack on democracy was not accepted by some member states, nor by important municipalities and a broad coalition of citizens’ movements. In the end, the negotiations between governments in the Council have led to nothing – with some governments opposing the thrust of the proposal - and the European Parliament has abandoned the dossier. It will only be a threat again if the new Commission that takes office end of 2019 decides to retable the proposal.
The directive surfaced after years of pressure from big business lobby
Lobby
Lobbies
A lobby is an entity organized to represent and defend the interests of a specific group by exerting pressure or influence on persons or institutions that hold power. Lobbying consists in conducting actions aimed at influencing, directly or indirectly, the drafting, application or interpretation of legislative measures, standards, regulations and more generally any intervention or decision by the Public Authorities.
groups to have the Commission secure a more forceful implementation of the Services Directive. The directive, also known as the Bolkestein Directive, covers a broad range of services and introduces far reaching rules that have serious implications for welfare, environmental policies and social rights. It is also vaguely worded, in part as an outcome of strong protests at the time of its adoption in 2006. This leads to lack of clarity, a space for interpretation which business lobby groups want to solve in an easy manner: to award the institution it trusts the most to look at the matters in a single-minded manner with veto powers.
While it is good news the proposed directive, which was fundamentally at odds with democracy, now has to be abandoned, it will remain as an indication of just how far the European Commission and its allies are prepared to go in their attempts to enforce their neoliberal ideology.
Still, there is reason to believe this is not the final word in the matter. New initiatives will be taken at the EU level to impose stricter disciplines at the local level to ensure market discipline. The victory against the Notification Procedure directive, then, should serve as a wake-up call to all those who care for local democracy to join forces and identify ways of defending the right to make decisions to defend and expand welfare, to secure public services for all and to form cities according to the wishes of those who live in them. After the failure of the Notfication Procedure directive, it is time for a public debate on how ensure that the European Commission gets clear instructions to once and for all halt its crusade anti-democratic deregulation of European societies. The coming weeks in the run-up to the European Parliament elections are the perfect time for such a debate.
See also:
Stop the EU’s Services Notification Procedure - municipalities need democratic space to protect the interests of citizens!
Bolkestein returns: EU Commission power grab over services
26 April, by CADTM
Full version & Execcutive summary
Africa : the debt trap and how to get out of it27 March, by CADTM
Political situation in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, microcredit, IMF
Success of the 9th CADTM South Asia seminar in Colombo (Sri Lanka)21 December 2022, by CADTM , Maxime Perriot
16 December 2022, by CADTM , Collective
Declaration / Statement
Why the CADTM disputes the “Swapping public debt for climate action" proposal14 December 2022, by CADTM
4 December 2022, by CADTM
Sign on statement
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO): 19 years is enough2 December 2022, by CADTM , Collective , GRAIN , Friends of the Earth
25 November 2022, by CADTM
17 August 2022, by CADTM
28 May 2022, by CADTM
31 March, by Collective
1 February, by Collective
26 January, by Collective
9 January, by Collective
16 December 2022, by CADTM , Collective
5 December 2022, by Collective , Eurodad , Afrodad , Latindadd , ODG (Observatorio de la Deuda en la Globalización)
Sign on statement
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO): 19 years is enough2 December 2022, by CADTM , Collective , GRAIN , Friends of the Earth
10 October 2022, by Collective
17 September 2022, by Collective
28 August 2022, by Collective
18 December 2018, by Corporate Europe Observatory
12 July 2018, by Corporate Europe Observatory
25 October 2017, by Corporate Europe Observatory
8 March 2017, by Corporate Europe Observatory
20 December 2016, by Corporate Europe Observatory
25 August 2016, by Corporate Europe Observatory
29 July 2016, by Corporate Europe Observatory
26 May 2016, by TNI , Corporate Europe Observatory , Friends of the Earth , Forum Umwelt und Entwicklung , Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
18 December 2015, by Corporate Europe Observatory
17 November 2015, by Corporate Europe Observatory
0 | 10
22 September 2020, by CADTM , Collective , Virginie de Romanet , Renaud Vivien , PAH , Antonio Gambini , ACiDe , Vicente Losada , Eva Betavatzi , Gilles Grégoire , Spanish Platform against vulture funds , Mats Lucia Bayer , Walter Actis , Ángel del Castillo , Mari Ángeles Bueno , Roberto Moreno , Miguel Vázquez , Pedro Martin Heras