Berlijn eist van Barroso uitzonderingsbepalingen voor Duitsland in Dienstenrichtlijn (en)

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is to make the proposed EU services directive the top theme at a meeting with European Commission President José Manuel Durao Barroso i on Tuesday (15 February).

According to a report in German news magazine Der Spiegel, Mr Schröder wants to push through several exemptions for Germany.

The aim is to protect the German market from wage- and social-dumping and to stop German unemployment figures rising due to cheap labour from eastern Europe.

The services directive, which aims to liberalise the markets in services, has been among the most controversial to have been proposed by the EU.

Its central axis, the rule of origin, which means that companies can set up in other member states according to their domestic rules, have led to fears of a general lowering of wages and social security.

Last week France, followed a few days later by Germany, spoke out strongly against the proposed law.