SERVICES DIRECTIVE 2006123EC

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SERVICES DIRECTIVE2006/123/EC

• - towards more competitive market in the European
  Union

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General approach and structure

• Goal is to achieve a genuine Internal Market in
  services
• A framework directive applying to wide-range of
  services
• The Directive includes following parts
• administrative simplification
• freedom of establishment
• freedom to provide services
• quality of services
• administrative co-operation

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Scope of the Directive (1)

• Services
• Any self-employed economic activity which is
  normally provided for remuneration
• Following activities are excluded from the scope
• non-economic services of general interest
• financial services
• electronic communication services and networks
• transport services and port services
• services of temporary work agencies

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Scope of the Directive (2)

• health care services
• audiovisual and radio broadcasting services
• gambling activities
• activities which are connected with the exercise
  of official authority
• certain social services
• private security services
• services provided by notaries and bailiffs

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Scope of the Directive (3)

• Providers established in a MS
• a natural person who is a national of a MS
• a legal person established in a MS
• Certain provisions in the Directive relate to
  recipients
• a natural person who is a national of a MS or who
  benefits from rights conferred upon him by
  Community acts
• a legal person established in a MS

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Administrative simplification

• MSs are obliged to examine all procedures and
  formalities applicable to access to a service
  activity and to the exercise thereof and, if
  needed, simplify them
• Points of single contact
• Procedures by electronic means

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Freedom of establishment

• Actual pursuit of an economic activity for an
  indefinite period and through a stable
  infrastructure
• Provisions relating to
• authorisation schemes
• forbidden requirements which must be abolished
• requirements which must evaluated and in certain
  cases abolished or replaced by less restrictive
  means

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Freedom to provide services

• Characterised by the absence of a stable and
  continuous participation in the economic life of
  the host MS
• MSs are obliged to abstain from imposing their
  own requirements on incoming service providers,
  except
• where justified by reasons of public policy,
  public security, public health or the protection
  of environment
• legislation in question is covered by derogations
  provided for in Article 17
• case-by-case measures relating to the safety of
  services

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Quality of services

• Information on providers, their services and the
  settlement of disputes
• Professional liability insurance and guarantees
• Commercial communications by the regulated
  professions
• Multidisciplinary activities

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A closer glance on freedom of establishment

• Authorisation schemes are allowed only on certain
  conditions
• non-discriminative
• the need for authorisation is justified by an
  overriding reason relating to the public interest
• proportionality
• Requirements are set for
• conditions of the authorisations
• the duration of the authorisations
• authorisation procedures

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Freedom of establishment (2)

• Forbidden requirements
• nationality requirements for the provider, his
  staff, shareholders or members of the management
  or supervisory bodies
• a requirement to be resident in the territory of
  that MS
• a prohibition on having several establishments
• restrictions on choosing between a principal or a
  secondary establishment or between different
  forms of secondary establishments

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Freedom of establishment (3)

• conditions of reciprocity
• economic tests
• the involvement of competing operators in the
  decisions of competent authorities
• obligation to have financial guarantees or
  insurances from the MS in question
• an obligation to have been previously registered
  or to have previously exercised the activity in
  the MSs in question

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Freedom of establishment (4)

• Requirements subject to evaluation
• quantitative or territorial restrictions
• obligation for the service provider to take a
  specific legal form
• requirements relating to the shareholding of
  companies
• requirements reserving the provision of certain
  services to specific providers

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Freedom of establishment (5)

• bans on having more than one establishment in the
  territory of the same MS
• obligations to have a minimum number of employees
• obligations to apply fixed minimum or maximum
  tariffs
• obligation on the provider to supply other
  specific services jointly with his service