Licensed to serve

EU ministers brokered a landmark deal last week that should boost growth in the bloc by opening up its services market to cross-border competition. The deal was widely seen as showing that the Union has recovered from a difficult year following the French and Dutch "No" vote in referendums on the EU Constitution.

"We show citizens we can take decisions which will help growth and employment," said Martin Bartenstein, Economy Minister for EU president Austria, adding that the rules should create "hundreds of thousands" of jobs.

Lithuania was the only country to abstain from backing the deal, with all other members voicing support for the bill. Germany's decision to throw its weight behind the compromise was crucial.

The new rules will enable providers of services as diverse as hairdressing, architecture, software and plumbing to operate across the bloc with fewer restrictions than now. However, the directive will not allow service providers to work in other member states according to the rules of their home country - as was suggested by the original proposal. Instead, it simply tells EU states that service providers must be given access to their country and freedom to exercise their business.

France, a strong critic of the original plan, was won over by an agreement to introduce the new rules over three years instead of the usual two. France's Europe Minister, Catherine Colonna, joked that Polish plumbers were now welcome in France.

A final reading of the bill in the European Parliament will take place by December and the assembly is expected to endorse the package. (Reuters)