The draft Directive on Services in the Internal Market, put
forward by the Commission in January last year, is designed to cut
the red tape that currently prevents businesses from offering their
services across borders, or from opening premises in other Member
States.
According to the Commission, the proposals will cover all
services provided to consumers and businesses except free services
provided directly by public authorities, or services that are
already covered by specific
EU
law – such as financial
services, telecommunications and transport.
Services are covered whether they are provided in person or at
a distance, including via the internet; whether the service
provider is located temporarily or permanently in the Member State;
and whether the customer travels to the State in which the service
is to be provided (to a hotel, or theme park, for example).
In general terms, the Directive proposes that Member States
remove barriers, such as licensing procedures, that prevent or
discourage operators from other Member States from setting up on
their territory.
It seeks to simplify the process of providing a service in
another Member State by limiting the number of documents required,
and by establishing electronic procedures, and aims to ensure that
businesses can obtain all necessary information and complete all
formalities through single points of contact instead of having to
deal with a multitude of different authorities.
The Commission plans to apply the country of origin principle
– whereby once a service provider is operating legally in one
Member State, it can market its services in others without having
to comply with further rules in those "host" Member States.
But this is too much for some Member States, who fear that
service providers from the newer Member States will be able to
undermine those established in older States, where requirements can
be much more rigorous.
The Industry Committee of the European Parliament debated the
issue earlier this week, when it considered the first part of
rapporteur Evelyne Gebhardt's response to the Commission proposals.
This put forward many amendments to the draft Directive, watering
it down considerably by, amongst other things, removing the country
of origin principle.
According to reports, this was rejected by a majority vote of
the Industry Committee on Tuesday.
Gebhardt has yet to publish the second part of her response,
relating to other aspects of the Directive.
