To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 June 2005, Official Report, column 474W, on EU directives, if he will make a statement on the further progress of the EU Directive on Services.

We have made significant progress on the Services Directive in technical discussions and in Council. Further delay to the European Parliament vote, now scheduled for January, means it will not be possible to reach formal agreement on the directive during our presidency. However, maximising progress on this important single market measure remains a priority for this Government.