The Bolkestein Directive at the European Union level Marjatta Melto EI Pan-European/ETUCE Vice-President

Introduction Outline Context Education and the European Union Recent developments in the EU Treaties and Trade in Education The Services Directive Will the Services Directive lead to trade in education in the EU internal market? Possible consequences ETUCE actions

Context Education and the European Union EU Member States have full responsibility for the content of teaching and the organisation of education systems The EU can adopt recommendations and incentive measures The EU’s role is to support, coordinate and supplement Member States Harmonisation of education systems within the EU is prohibited by the Treaty

Context The EU Treaties and Trade in Education Current Treaty – « Treaty of Nice » (2001): Article 133 on EU’s common commercial policy for concluding external trade agreements contains a clear exclusion of education The EU can not conclude GATS agreements on educational services on behalf of the Member States The new draft Constitutional Treaty (first presented July 2003): the exclusion of education from the Common Commercial Policy was deleted the door opened for concluding external trade agreements in education by a majority vote

(continued) As a result of intense lobbying from ETUCE and teacher unions across the EU an amendment to the article on Common Commercial Policy was achieved: The Constitutional Treaty now contains a safeguard: Agreements on trade in educational services shall be adopted by a unanimous vote “where these agreements risk seriously disturbing the national organisation of such services and prejudicing the responsibility of Member States to deliver them”

The Services Directive A new proposal for a Directive on Services in the EU Internal Market – “The Bolkestein Directive” – was presented in January 2004 and is currently under examination by the European Parliament The aim is to facilitate trade in services in the EU internal market The Directive covers a broad range of services sectors, e.g. real estate agencies, architects, health care services

(continued) The main tool introduced to facilitate trade is the country-of-origin-principle: the services provider is only obliged to comply with the rules and regulations of the country of establishment, not the country in which the services are provided

Will the Services Directive lead to trade in education? The proposed Directive does not cover educational activities provided by the State for no consideration, i.e. where there is no economic counterpart Specifically, the wording is: “non‑economic activities, nor activities performed by the State for no consideration as part of its social, cultural, education and judicial functions where there is no element of remuneration” A very unclear definition, given the various ways in which national education systems are funded partly by public, partly by private means

(continued) How can the boundary between an education activity of a non-economic nature and an education activity of an economic nature be drawn? The EU draws a line between: Services of General Interest (e.g. education provided by the State for no consideration) and Services of General Economic Interest (e.g. water supply, electricity, and health care, which are to be covered by the Directive, if liberalised) This boundary is not fixed, but subject to how each Member State organises and regulates its public services, i.e. the degree to which different public services sectors are being liberalised

Possible consequences of the Services Directive The EU trade policy risks disturbing the division of competences between the EU and the Member States in the area of education The right of each Member State to fully regulate the education sector will be reduced if the country-of-origin-principle is applied to cross-border provision of education services Harmonisation of education as a result of trade, even though harmonisation is prohibited by the Treaty Pressure to include education in EU’s GATS agreements, if education is included in trade in services internally in the EU A risk that education is increasingly considered a service of general economic interest in the EU

ETUCE actions Calls upon the EU to clearly exclude education from the scope of the Services Directive Continuously stresses: Education as a public service, even if interest for private funding is increasing Respect for diversity of traditions and cultures must be maintained Enough possibilities for innovation in development in education within the public sector Vigilance is necessary for the development of regulations on services connected to public sector, including provision and procurement Defending the quality of public education and resources needed to keep it competitive Keep on stressing the importance of education