A. whereas Union citizens – regardless of their disabilities – have, inter alia, the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, the right to vote and to stand as candidates in elections to the European Parliament and in municipal elections in their Member State of residence, the right to the provision of consular protection by the diplomatic and consular authorities of another Member State in third countries, and the right to petition the European Parliament, to apply to the European Ombudsman, and to address the EU institutions and advisory bodies in any of the Treaty languages;

Under those fundamental rights, workers and employers, or their respective organisations, have, in accordance with Union law and national laws and practices, the right to take collective action in cases of conflicts of interest to defend their interests, including strike action[15].

25. Points out that local authorities must remain free to choose the method of managing the services of general interest for which they are responsible pursuant to the provisions of their respective Member States, and that such discretion includes the right to use direct management or to delegate the management of those services; stresses, however, that where a local authority decides to delegate the management of the services of general interest for which it is responsible, it must be required to use systematic competitive tendering, in accordance with Community law; stresses also that the entities which manage services of general int ...[+++]erest under a direct management arrangement should not be in a position to take over external markets, outside their territorial area of activity, but this must not prevent inter-communality;

24. Points out that local authorities must remain free to choose the method of managing the services of general interest for which they are responsible pursuant to the provisions of their respective Member States, and that such discretion includes the right to use direct management or to delegate the management of those services; stresses, however, that where a local authority decides to delegate the management of the services of general interest for which it is responsible, it must be required to use systematic competitive tendering, in accordance with Community law; also stresses that the entities managing services of general interes ...[+++]t under a direct management arrangement should not be in a position to take over external markets, outside their territorial area of activity;

(47) Technological development will allow rightholders to make use of technological measures designed to prevent or restrict acts not authorised by the rightholders of any copyright, rights related to copyright or the sui generis right in databases.

Voluntary measures taken by rightholders, including agreements between rightholders and other parties concerned, as well as measures taken by Member States, do not prevent rightholders from using technological measures which are consistent with the exceptions or limitations on private copying in national law in accordance with Article 5(2)(b), taking account of the condition of fair compensation under that provision and the possible differentiation between various conditions of use in accordance with Article 5(5), such as controlling the number of reproductions.