The chairman of the SPD Parliamentary Group in the European Parliament, Bernhard Rapkay, has signalled his willingness to cooperate with BAG WfbM. In the context of the recently published European Commission Communication on Services, he explicitly mentioned the issue of workshops for adapted work. He stressed in particular the important integration efforts performed by workshops. Bernhard Rapkay has been familiar with the work of these workshops for a long time due to his close contacts to the German Arbeiterwohlfahrt (Workers' Welfare).

Rapkay declared, he would support workshops in their effort to clarify the importance of social services in the single market. From the competition expert’s point of view, he does not recognise that the position of workshops should be challenged by the new single European market. In fact, public procurement law allows for the possibility of awarding a contract to companies which employ persons with impairments. Positive discrimination of a contractor therefore corresponds entirely to single market requirements, provided that the offer of the product or service in question also complies with other objectives going along with the single European market.

A legal classification as provided by a regulation or directive on social services is not being planned by the European Commission so far. The BAG: WfbM aims to intensify its contacts to the Commission and to members of the European Parliament as well as the participation in the European umbrella organisations.