SUMMARY

This Directive falls under the framework of the 'Lisbon Strategy' and proposes four main objectives for creating an internal services market:

• to ease freedom of establishment for providers and the freedom of provision of services in the EU;
• to strengthen rights of recipients of services as users of the latter;
• to promote the quality of services;
• to establish effective administrative cooperation among the Member States.

This Directive establishes a general legal framework which favours freedom of establishment for providers as well as the free movement of services, while guaranteeing a superior level of quality.

Scope

The Directive establishes a general legal framework for any service provided for economic return (with the exception of excluded sectors) while taking the specific nature of certain activities or professions into account.

The following services are excluded:

• non-economic services of general interest;
• financial services (including those such as banking, credit, insurance and re-insurance, occupational or personal pensions, securities, investment funds and payments);
• electronic communications services with respect to matters covered by Directives;
• transport services, including port services;
• services of temporary work agencies;
• healthcare services;
• audiovisual services;
• gambling;
• activities which are connected with the exercise of official authority ;
• certain social services (relating to social housing, childcare and aid for persons in need);
• private security services;
• services provided by notaries and bailiffs, who are appointed by an official act of government.

Administrative simplification

This Directive requires the Member States to examine and, if need be, simplify the procedures and formalities applicable to accessing a service activity and to exercise them.

In particular, the Directive includes:

• putting in place points of single contact at which a provider may complete all the necessary formalities to fulfil various duties;
• the obligation to make this possible on-line.

Removing legal and administrative barriers to the development of service activities

To ease freedom of establishment, the Directive:

• includes the obligation to evaluate the compatibility of the authorisation schemes in light of the principles of non-discrimination and proportionality and to maintain certain principles regarding the conditions and procedures of authorisation applicable to service activities;
• repeals certain legal requirements that remain in the legislation of some Member States and that are no longer justifiable, such as requirements on nationality;
• contains the obligation to evaluate the compatibility of a certain number of other legal requirements in light of the principles of non-discrimination and proportionality.

Easing the freedom to provide temporary cross-border services

To improve the free provision of services, the Directive stipulates that the Member States must guarantee freedom of access to the service activity and the freedom to exercise such activity throughout their territory. The Member State to which the service provider moves to become established may only enforce its own requirements inasmuch as these are non-discriminatory, proportional and justified for reasons of public order, public safety, public health or environmental protection.

The Directive also provides for a certain number of significant derogations from the principle, as regards, for example, professional qualifications, secondment and services of general economic interest.

Strengthening consumer rights as service users

Within the framework of protecting the rights of recipients, the Directive:

• affirms the right of recipients to use the services of other Member States;
• establishes the right of recipients to obtain information on the rules applicable to providers, whatever their location may be, and on the services offered by a service provider.

Ensuring service quality

In this area, the Directive aims to:

• strengthen the quality of services by encouraging, for example, voluntary certification of activities or drawing up quality charters;
• encourage European codes of conduct to be drawn up, in particular by professional bodies or associations.

Establishing effective administrative cooperation among the Member States

In order to facilitate the establishment and free movement of services throughout the European Union, the Directive:

• lays down a legal obligation requiring the Member States to cooperate with the relevant authorities of other Member States in order to ensure efficient control of service activities in the Union while avoiding a multiplication of monitoring. An alert mechanism between Member States is also to be established;
• constitutes the basis for developing an electronic system for the exchange of information between Member States, which is vital for establishing effective administrative cooperation between them.

Background

Within the 'Lisbon Strategy', the Commission has responded to the European Council's invitation to design a policy aiming to remove obstacles to free circulation of goods and services and the freedom of establishment of service provision.
On 13 January 2004, the Commission adopted a 'Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on services in the internal market (COM(2004) 2), also known as the 'Services' Directive.
On 16 February 2006, the European Parliament adopted, by a large majority and on first reading, a certain number of amendments to the proposal. The compromise achieved by the Parliament was taken up by the Commission in the amended proposal for a Directive of 4 April 2006 (COM(2006) 160 final), and also formed the basis of the common position of the Council adopted on 24 July 2006.
The Parliament ratified this on second reading on 15 November 2006, without significantly modifying the common position, and the Council finally adopted the Directive on 12 December 2006. It should be transposed by the Member States by the end of 2009.