madam president i congratulate mr andersson on an excellent report
i would like to start with a partial quote from paragraph twelve in the report
it says believes that the intention of the legislator in the posting of workers directive and services directive is incompatible with the interpretations given by the court
i agree with that
i was a legislator on both of those directives and never expected that they when looked at alongside the treaty would lead the court to the conclusion that the economic freedoms take precedence over fundamental rights for workers
when this sort of thing happens the legislator should act to restore legal certainty
we are a co-legislator and this resolution makes it very clear what we think needs to be done
but commissioner we cannot discharge our duty as legislator until you exercise your right of initiative
i co-chair and co-convene the trade union intergroup in this place
this includes all of the main political groups and brings me into contact with many trade unionists not only in brussels and strasbourg but out in the regions and i can tell you that there is widespread and spreading anxiety because of the imbalance thrown up by these judgments
commissioner this is very serious in the approach to next year's european elections
if trade unionists out there decide that europe is part of the problem instead of part of the solution that could be very damaging for all sections of this house and for the democratic process itself
i am glad to hear you say that you think the posting of workers directive needs improvement because one of the things we want is a revision of that directive to at least make it clear how collective agreements can be used to put minimum terms and conditions in place and to say how collective action can be used to protect those rights
so commissioner please listen to this directly elected institution
we do have our ears to the ground
use your right of initiative and show that you see the need to act
