Directive on services in the internal market
Encyclopedia
The Directive on services in the internal market (commonly referred to as the Bolkestein Directive) is an EU law aiming at establishing a single market
for services within the European Union
(EU). Drafted under the leadership of the former European Commissioner for the Internal Market
Frits Bolkestein
, it has been popularly referred to by his name. It was seen as an important kick-start to the Lisbon Agenda which, launched in 2000, was an agreed strategy to make the EU "the world's most dynamic and competitive economy" by 2010.
The Bolkestein Directive was harshly criticised by left-wing European politicians, who stated that it would lead to competition between workers in different parts of Europe — hence the expression "Polish plumber
" — resulting in social dumping
. The proposal, after the 2004 original draft had been substantially amended, was approved on 12 December 2006 by the European Parliament and Council, and adopted as the Directive 2006/123/EC.
in 2004, the first draft of the Services Directive propounded several important changes in the EU services market.
could work in France under Polish labour law
) - to Social Legislation and to Health and Safety at Work (HSW).
In these social fields the Posting-of-Workers Directive
takes over and determines that short-term social protection such as minimum wages and HSW, are governed by the rules of the country where the services are provided (the host country), while long-term benefits, such as pension and unemployment contributions remain with the country of origin (to which the posted workers returns after the service).
Secondary legislation, in principle, cannot introduce rights and obligations that do not already have a basis in the Treaty. In this respect, the original draft of the Services Directive was not a novelty but a clarification of the case law of the European Court of Justice and the continuation of the Country of Origin principle that had already been introduced in the TV Without Frontiers Directive, the Second Banking Directive, the Third Insurance Directive, the E-Commerce Directive and others.
The first proposal of the Bolkestein Directive provoked intense debate and mass protests in various EU countries, including France
, Belgium
, Sweden
, and Denmark
. On 21 March 2005 nearly one hundred thousand marched in Brussels
to protest the Directive. The crowd consisted primarily of working people and trade unionists from Belgium, France, Germany
, Italy
, and the Netherlands
according to a contributor to Spectrezine weblog.
Critics argued that the so-devised Directive would erode many of the Member State regulations governing industry and the environment, and would lead to competition between workers in different parts of Europe, resulting in a downward spiral in income levels. The expression "Polish Plumber
" became famous during the French debate about the directive, meaning that under this legislation, a Polish plumber would able to work in France under Polish labour law
s. Critics also charged that the Directive was a sign that "Anglo-Saxon" style economics was running rampant over the EU, and they warned that the directive led inevitably to "social dumping
" -- companies and jobs relocating to the low-cost and less regulated economies of eastern Europe.
The process of "accelerated liberalisation" would have shifted the burden from the liberalisers to regulators, they argued. Assuming every piece of regulation to be burdensome by default, the Directive required member states to justify all existing legislation on the grounds that it was non-discriminatory, necessary and proportional.
Writing in The Guardian
of 20 January, David Rowland argued that the Directive posed a threat to the British
health care system:
He also pointed out the implications for the building trade and environmental protection:
Another critic of the Directive, Graham Copp, commented in Red Pepper
:
The European Trade Union Council argued that the Directive
Derek Simpson
, general secretary of Amicus
, said:
told an EU summit in Brussels that the changes planned by the Directive were "unacceptable". However, modifications to the Directive were introduced within the normal course of the EU legislative process, at a later stage. The Directive did not disappear from the pipeline because the leaders agreed on the need to "open up" the EU services sector.
"If France wishes to eliminate the risk of social dumping, this will be addressed in the framework of the legislative procedure and of co-decision, which has been initiated," declared Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg.
On 1 July 2005 the UK, which was considered pro-liberalisation and thus in favour of the Services Directive, took up the chair of the EU Presidency
. Among other things, under the UK Presidency the Services Directive looked likely to raise temperatures in the EU, particularly among those in favour of a more social Europe, such as France, Belgium, and Germany. In Tony Blair
's speech to the European Parliament on 23 June, he committed the UK Presidency to try to "resolve some of the hard dossiers", of which the Services Directive was one. However, the UK was unable to retain the key liberalising aspects of the Directive and agreement in Council was not achieved during its Presidency.
On February 14-16, 2006, a plenary session of the European parliament
carried out its first reading of the Directive in Strasbourg
.
On February 16, 2006, MEPs
(Members of European Parliament) voted 391-213 in favour of a proposed revision to the Directive, although it has been 'watered down' from the original directive read to the European Parliament on February 14, so much so that Socialist
MEP Evelyne Gebhardt
said the directive had been 'turned upside-down', a claim contested by labour organisations.
Meanwhile, about 50 000 people demonstrated against the "country of origin principle" in Strasbourg, according to the left wing L'Humanité
newspaper.
The majority of members of the two largest groupings in the parliament, the conservative European People's Party
(EPP) and the centre left Party of European Socialists
(PES) voted in favour of the revised bill.
The Party of the European Left
, the European Green Party
as well as the French Socialist Party voted against the new revision.
The controversial "country of origin
principle" was explicitly left over, but there was no "country of destination principle" to replace it either. The European Court of Justice
would therefore be charged of deciding, through jurisprudence
, which country's labour law
s apply themselves in each case.
The European Commission estimated that this proposed version of the Directive would have created an additional 600,000 jobs in the EU, would have boosted economic growth and would have increased quality and choice for consumers.
The Wall Street Journal estimated that the revised directive would have failed in its objective: the liberalisation of services at the heart of the EU.
D. Godefridi (Hayek Institute) wrote in le Figaro
: "Services represent 70% of the European economy. In not liberalising these the EU remains below the objective of the founding treaties of 1957: there is no common European market. For ten years European economic project has moved backwards. On 30 May 2006, the European political elite buried the very essence of the European project".
Green MP Gérard Onesta
declared: "the Bolkestein directive had become a monster... It is now a monster missing a few teeth, but it is still a monster".
MEP Francis Wurtz
(European United Left - Nordic Green Left) declared to L'Humanité
that, as European Commissioner
Charlie McCreevy
(who had succeeded Bolkestein) had pointed out, the European Court of Justice jurisprudence systematically favorised the "country of origin principle".
Conservative MEP Philippe de Villiers
also declared to Le Figaro
: "The new Bolkestein directive is a lie"; "In its original form, the directive threatened social dumping for 5,000 professions, the current version still targets 4,000". Henceforth, in the absence of a defined "country of destination principle", the "country of origin principle" would have still applied itself.
presented a new version of the directive to the Council of Ministers
including most of the modifications voted by the MEPs, in accordance to the codecision procedure.
On 29 May 2006 the Council approved the revised text, which subsequently was resubmitted to the parliament for its second and final reading.
and the European Parliament
, and published on the Official Journal of the European Union
on 27 December 2006 as the Directive 2006/123/EC. Therefore the Directive on services in the internal market should have been completely implemented by the Member States within the 28th December 2009.
Although the final version did not include the "country of origin principle", the Directive instead reminded Member States of the principle of free movement, while accepting inroads when free movement collides with other public interests. However, before making such inroads, authorities have to verify and recognize any protection already provided in the country of origin - under the mutual recognition principle, they need to take into account what takes place in other countries before proceeding.
The Directive should make it easier for EU service providers to operate in any other EU Member State. The UK's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
(Services Directive implementation team), working with marketing consultants, created the EUGO brand for use on point-of-single-contact portals across Europe.
article by George Monbiot
, an attempted 'coup against social Europe'? (8 March 2005) (accessible in English on www.humaniteinenglish.com) (English transl. availables on Humaniteinenglish.com).
Single market
A single market is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of production and of enterprise and services. The goal is that the movement of capital, labour, goods, and services between the members...
for services within the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(EU). Drafted under the leadership of the former European Commissioner for the Internal Market
European Commissioner
A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each Member within the college holds a specific portfolio and are led by the President of the European Commission...
Frits Bolkestein
Frits Bolkestein
Frederik "Frits" Bolkestein is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy . He served as a Member of the House of Representatives from 16 January 1978, until 5 November 1982, when he became State Secretary for Economic Affairs from 5 November 1982, until 14 July...
, it has been popularly referred to by his name. It was seen as an important kick-start to the Lisbon Agenda which, launched in 2000, was an agreed strategy to make the EU "the world's most dynamic and competitive economy" by 2010.
The Bolkestein Directive was harshly criticised by left-wing European politicians, who stated that it would lead to competition between workers in different parts of Europe — hence the expression "Polish plumber
Polish Plumber
Polish Plumber was a phrase first used by Philippe Val in Charlie Hebdo and popularised by Philippe de Villiers as a symbol of cheap labour coming in from Central Europe as a result of the Directive on services in the internal market during the EU Constitution referendum in France in 2005.The...
" — resulting in social dumping
Social dumping
"Social dumping" is a term that is used to describe a temporary or transitory movement of labour, whereby employers use workers from one country or area in another country or area where the cost of labour is usually more expensive, thus saving money and potentially increasing profit.It was also...
. The proposal, after the 2004 original draft had been substantially amended, was approved on 12 December 2006 by the European Parliament and Council, and adopted as the Directive 2006/123/EC.
2004 original proposal: the three pillars
Devised by the European CommissionEuropean Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
in 2004, the first draft of the Services Directive propounded several important changes in the EU services market.
Country of origin
However, this would have not applied to the professional rules (where according to the Directive on the Recognition of Diplomas, the rules of the country where the services are provided apply), nor - contrary to popular belief (fearing for example that a Polish PlumberPolish Plumber
Polish Plumber was a phrase first used by Philippe Val in Charlie Hebdo and popularised by Philippe de Villiers as a symbol of cheap labour coming in from Central Europe as a result of the Directive on services in the internal market during the EU Constitution referendum in France in 2005.The...
could work in France under Polish labour law
Labour law
Labour law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees...
) - to Social Legislation and to Health and Safety at Work (HSW).
In these social fields the Posting-of-Workers Directive
Posted Workers Directive
The EU Posted Workers Directive is an EU directive concerned with the free movement of workers within the European Union. It makes an exception to the Convention on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations 1980, which ordinarily requires that workers are protected by the law of the member...
takes over and determines that short-term social protection such as minimum wages and HSW, are governed by the rules of the country where the services are provided (the host country), while long-term benefits, such as pension and unemployment contributions remain with the country of origin (to which the posted workers returns after the service).
Arguments in favour of the primal version
Legally, the Directive did not bring anything into EU law that had not already been existing in the EC Treaty as interpreted by the Court of Justice. The "Country of Origin" principle has been gradually introduced into EU law of the freedom of movement of goods in Cassis de Dijon case of 1979 and into other areas (services, establishment) soon after.Secondary legislation, in principle, cannot introduce rights and obligations that do not already have a basis in the Treaty. In this respect, the original draft of the Services Directive was not a novelty but a clarification of the case law of the European Court of Justice and the continuation of the Country of Origin principle that had already been introduced in the TV Without Frontiers Directive, the Second Banking Directive, the Third Insurance Directive, the E-Commerce Directive and others.
Criticisms on the early draft
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. On 21 March 2005 nearly one hundred thousand marched in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
to protest the Directive. The crowd consisted primarily of working people and trade unionists from Belgium, France, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
according to a contributor to Spectrezine weblog.
Critics argued that the so-devised Directive would erode many of the Member State regulations governing industry and the environment, and would lead to competition between workers in different parts of Europe, resulting in a downward spiral in income levels. The expression "Polish Plumber
Polish Plumber
Polish Plumber was a phrase first used by Philippe Val in Charlie Hebdo and popularised by Philippe de Villiers as a symbol of cheap labour coming in from Central Europe as a result of the Directive on services in the internal market during the EU Constitution referendum in France in 2005.The...
" became famous during the French debate about the directive, meaning that under this legislation, a Polish plumber would able to work in France under Polish labour law
Labour law
Labour law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees...
s. Critics also charged that the Directive was a sign that "Anglo-Saxon" style economics was running rampant over the EU, and they warned that the directive led inevitably to "social dumping
Social dumping
"Social dumping" is a term that is used to describe a temporary or transitory movement of labour, whereby employers use workers from one country or area in another country or area where the cost of labour is usually more expensive, thus saving money and potentially increasing profit.It was also...
" -- companies and jobs relocating to the low-cost and less regulated economies of eastern Europe.
The process of "accelerated liberalisation" would have shifted the burden from the liberalisers to regulators, they argued. Assuming every piece of regulation to be burdensome by default, the Directive required member states to justify all existing legislation on the grounds that it was non-discriminatory, necessary and proportional.
Writing in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
of 20 January, David Rowland argued that the Directive posed a threat to the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
health care system:
- The directive is controversial because it applies the same rules to healthcare and social services as it does to estate agents, fairground providers, advertising companies and private security firms. The commission no longer sees the services provided by doctors to patients as a special public good to be enjoyed by all citizens, but as an "economic activity", a commodity to be traded across the EU much like any other.
He also pointed out the implications for the building trade and environmental protection:
- The trade union movement is worried that construction companies will no longer have to abide by UK health and safety laws on building sites, and environmental campaigners fear that local planning rules, which govern where supermarkets can open, will be judged to be an illegal barrier to market entry. Attempts to stem the growth in the number of bars and nightclubs in city centres will also be thwarted by a number of clauses.
Another critic of the Directive, Graham Copp, commented in Red Pepper
Red Pepper (magazine)
Red Pepper is an independent ‘red, green and radical’ magazine based in the UK. For most of its history it appeared monthly, but relaunched as a bi-monthly during 2007.- Origins :...
:
- any company in any services industry (be it health, building, advertising or whatever) that was set up in one of the EU’s less regulated economies -– perhaps in one of the new eastern European member states -– could also set up in the UK; and the laws that would govern wages, standards, contracts, etc, for that business in Britain would be those of the eastern European country, for example, not the UK.
The European Trade Union Council argued that the Directive
- could speed up deregulation, seriously erode workers’ rights and protection, and damage the supply of essential services to European citizens.
Derek Simpson
Derek Simpson (trade unionist)
Derek Simpson is the former Joint General Secretary of the UK's biggest private-sector trade union, Unite from 2007 until 2010. He was General Secretary of the Amicus trade union from 2002 until its merger with the Transport and General Workers' Union to form Unite in 2007.-Early life:Derek...
, general secretary of Amicus
Amicus
Amicus was the United Kingdom's second-largest trade union, and the largest private sector union, formed by the merger of Manufacturing Science and Finance, the AEEU agreed in 2001, and two smaller unions, UNIFI and the GPMU...
, said:
- UK health and safety standards are hard won, and this directive threatens to dilute those high standards and compromise British workers and public safety without any redress to UK law or regulatory bodies.
2005 developments
On 22 March 2005, EU leaders, led by France, agreed on a "far reaching" revision of the Services Directive to preserve the European social model. French President Jacques ChiracJacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
told an EU summit in Brussels that the changes planned by the Directive were "unacceptable". However, modifications to the Directive were introduced within the normal course of the EU legislative process, at a later stage. The Directive did not disappear from the pipeline because the leaders agreed on the need to "open up" the EU services sector.
"If France wishes to eliminate the risk of social dumping, this will be addressed in the framework of the legislative procedure and of co-decision, which has been initiated," declared Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg.
On 1 July 2005 the UK, which was considered pro-liberalisation and thus in favour of the Services Directive, took up the chair of the EU Presidency
Presidency of the Council of the European Union
The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is the responsibility for the functioning of the Council of the European Union that rotates between the member states of the European Union every six months. The presidency is not a single president but rather the task is undertaken by a national...
. Among other things, under the UK Presidency the Services Directive looked likely to raise temperatures in the EU, particularly among those in favour of a more social Europe, such as France, Belgium, and Germany. In Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's speech to the European Parliament on 23 June, he committed the UK Presidency to try to "resolve some of the hard dossiers", of which the Services Directive was one. However, the UK was unable to retain the key liberalising aspects of the Directive and agreement in Council was not achieved during its Presidency.
Parliamentary amendments on the primal version
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
carried out its first reading of the Directive in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
.
On February 16, 2006, MEPs
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
(Members of European Parliament) voted 391-213 in favour of a proposed revision to the Directive, although it has been 'watered down' from the original directive read to the European Parliament on February 14, so much so that Socialist
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists is a European political party led by Sergei Stanishev, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The PES comprises social-democratic national-level political parties primarily from Member state of the European Union, as well as other nations of the European continent. The...
MEP Evelyne Gebhardt
Evelyne Gebhardt
Evelyne Gebhardt is a German politician. Since 1994 she has been a Member of the European Parliament representing the SPD...
said the directive had been 'turned upside-down', a claim contested by labour organisations.
Meanwhile, about 50 000 people demonstrated against the "country of origin principle" in Strasbourg, according to the left wing L'Humanité
L'Humanité
L'Humanité , formerly the daily newspaper linked to the French Communist Party , was founded in 1904 by Jean Jaurès, a leader of the French Section of the Workers' International...
newspaper.
The majority of members of the two largest groupings in the parliament, the conservative European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
(EPP) and the centre left Party of European Socialists
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists is a European political party led by Sergei Stanishev, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The PES comprises social-democratic national-level political parties primarily from Member state of the European Union, as well as other nations of the European continent. The...
(PES) voted in favour of the revised bill.
The Party of the European Left
Party of the European Left
The Party of the European Left, commonly abbreviated to just the European Left, is a political party at European level and an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. It was formed in January 2004 for the purposes of...
, the European Green Party
European Green Party
The European Green Party is the Green political party at European level. As such it is a federation of green parties in Europe.-History:...
as well as the French Socialist Party voted against the new revision.
Suggested inclusions
The proposed directive would have covered:- Services of "general public interest" (aka public servicesPublic servicesPublic services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...
in ordinary language), including, but not limited to, waterWaterWater is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, sewageSewageSewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
and wasteWasteWaste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
management. - Services provided to businesses such as management consultancy, certification and testing, facilities management and advertising,
- Services provided both to businesses and to consumers, such as real estate agencies, construction services, architects, distribution services, car rental and travel agencies.
- Consumer leisure services such as tourism, sports centres and amusement parks.
Suggested exclusions
The following however would have been excluded:- BroadcastingBroadcastingBroadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
, - GamblingGamblingGambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
- Temporary employment agenciesEmployment agencyAn employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In all developed countries there is a publicly funded employment agency and multiple private businesses which also act as employment agencies.-Public employment agencies:...
, - Legal and socialSocialThe term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
services, - PostalPostalPostal may refer to:* Mail, the postal service* The Postal Service, a band* "Going postal", the U.S. slang phrase meaning a killing spree* Going Postal, a 2004 Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett...
and Audiovisual services, - Public healthcarePublicly-funded health carePublicly funded health care is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most health care needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are set down in rules applying to the whole population...
(but not privatePrivate healthcarePrivate healthcare or private medicine is healthcare and medicine provided by entities other than the government. The term is generally used more in Europe and other countries which have publicly-funded health care, to differentiate the arrangement from the usual system.Ethical issues relating to...
), - Public transportPublic transportPublic transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
The controversial "country of origin
Country of origin
Country of origin , is the country of manufacture, production, or growth where an article or product comes from...
principle" was explicitly left over, but there was no "country of destination principle" to replace it either. The European Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
would therefore be charged of deciding, through jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
, which country's labour law
Labour law
Labour law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees...
s apply themselves in each case.
Proponents of liberalisation
Business groups stated that the new directive would limit the benefits that the early version of the Directive would have provided.The European Commission estimated that this proposed version of the Directive would have created an additional 600,000 jobs in the EU, would have boosted economic growth and would have increased quality and choice for consumers.
The Wall Street Journal estimated that the revised directive would have failed in its objective: the liberalisation of services at the heart of the EU.
D. Godefridi (Hayek Institute) wrote in le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
: "Services represent 70% of the European economy. In not liberalising these the EU remains below the objective of the founding treaties of 1957: there is no common European market. For ten years European economic project has moved backwards. On 30 May 2006, the European political elite buried the very essence of the European project".
Opponents of liberalisation
Left-wing and labour organisations underlined that the new version were not as favorable to workers as it pretends to be, and that the "country of origin principle" would have probably been applied by the European Court of Justice, as a record of its preceding decisions led believe. They especially pointed out that member states were prohibited from demanding any type of administrative authorisation to companies, thus making control of labour laws close to impossible.Green MP Gérard Onesta
Gérard Onesta
Gérard Onesta is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament for the South West of France.He is a member of the French Green Party, part of the European Greens. On 20 July 2004 he was re-elected a Member of the European Parliament, and he was elected four times one of its...
declared: "the Bolkestein directive had become a monster... It is now a monster missing a few teeth, but it is still a monster".
MEP Francis Wurtz
Francis Wurtz
Francis Wurtz was a French Member of the European Parliament from 1979 till 2009. Elected in the Île-de-France constituency on the French Communist Party ticket, he sits with the European United Left - Nordic Green Left group, and is its current President...
(European United Left - Nordic Green Left) declared to L'Humanité
L'Humanité
L'Humanité , formerly the daily newspaper linked to the French Communist Party , was founded in 1904 by Jean Jaurès, a leader of the French Section of the Workers' International...
that, as European Commissioner
European Commissioner
A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each Member within the college holds a specific portfolio and are led by the President of the European Commission...
Charlie McCreevy
Charlie McCreevy
Charles "Charlie" McCreevy is a former Irish politician. He was the European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services from 2004–2010. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD in 1977 and held the seat in Kildare until 2004 when he became Ireland's European Commissioner...
(who had succeeded Bolkestein) had pointed out, the European Court of Justice jurisprudence systematically favorised the "country of origin principle".
Conservative MEP Philippe de Villiers
Philippe de Villiers
Viscount Philippe Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon, known as Philippe de Villiers, born on 25 March 1949, is a French politician. He was the Mouvement pour la France nominee for the French presidential election of 2007. He received 2.23% of the vote, putting him in sixth place. As only the top...
also declared to Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
: "The new Bolkestein directive is a lie"; "In its original form, the directive threatened social dumping for 5,000 professions, the current version still targets 4,000". Henceforth, in the absence of a defined "country of destination principle", the "country of origin principle" would have still applied itself.
Final revision
On 5 April 2006 the European CommissionEuropean Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
presented a new version of the directive to the Council of Ministers
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
including most of the modifications voted by the MEPs, in accordance to the codecision procedure.
On 29 May 2006 the Council approved the revised text, which subsequently was resubmitted to the parliament for its second and final reading.
Approval and implementation
The Directive, after being substantially amended from the original proposal, was adopted on 12 December 2006 by the CouncilCouncil of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
and the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, and published on the Official Journal of the European Union
Official Journal of the European Union
The Official Journal of the European Union is the official gazette of record for the European Union . It is published every working day in all of the official languages of the member states. Only legal acts published in the Official Journal are binding.It was first published on 30 December 1952 as...
on 27 December 2006 as the Directive 2006/123/EC. Therefore the Directive on services in the internal market should have been completely implemented by the Member States within the 28th December 2009.
Although the final version did not include the "country of origin principle", the Directive instead reminded Member States of the principle of free movement, while accepting inroads when free movement collides with other public interests. However, before making such inroads, authorities have to verify and recognize any protection already provided in the country of origin - under the mutual recognition principle, they need to take into account what takes place in other countries before proceeding.
Implementation
The Services Directive, which came into force on the 28th December 2009, requires all EU Member States to establish web portals so anyone who provides a service will have a "point of single contact" where they can find out what legal requirements they would need to meet to operate in the country in question. Service providers can also use the web portals to apply for any licence or permit they would need.The Directive should make it easier for EU service providers to operate in any other EU Member State. The UK's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is a ministerial department of the United Kingdom Government created on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform .-Ministers:The BIS...
(Services Directive implementation team), working with marketing consultants, created the EUGO brand for use on point-of-single-contact portals across Europe.
External links
- The steps of the EU legislation procedure adopting Directive 2006/123/EC on PreLex
- Final text of Directive 2006/123/EC of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market
- UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - Services Directive Introduction
- Guidance for Business on the Provision of Services Regulations
News
(retrieved 27 March 2005) (retrieved 27 March 2005) (retrieved 27 March 2005) (retrieved 27 March 2005) (retrieved 27 March 2005) (retrieved 27 March 2005) (retrieved 27 March 2005) A GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
article by George Monbiot
George Monbiot
George Joshua Richard Monbiot is an English writer, known for his environmental and political activism. He lives in Machynlleth, Wales, writes a weekly column for The Guardian, and is the author of a number of books, including Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain and Bring on the...
, an attempted 'coup against social Europe'? (8 March 2005) (accessible in English on www.humaniteinenglish.com) (English transl. availables on Humaniteinenglish.com).