1. EU Services Directive
Why? How? and When?

2. EU Services Directive Economic rationale: Services - 75% of EU GDP;
70% of total employment.
cross-border services - 5% of EU GDP
Economic gains: 60 and 140 billion Euro
Growth potential: % of EU GDP
Legal basis:
Art. 26 TFEU: The ‘four freedoms’: „area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons and services and capital is ensured

3. WHY?
Jobs
Growth
Wealth

4. HOW? The Directive Wide reach:
all services unless specifically excluded 40% of EU GDP.
applies to EFTA countries (Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland)
Business.
Local Authorities

5. Services Directive Main tools:
Online applications and business information (Points of Single Contact)
Simplification: Removal of restrictions and barriers
Enhanced regulatory cooperation – IMI

6. HOW?

7. 1st tool: Points of single contact
Offer possibility for service providers to obtain all relevant information and to complete all relevant procedures.
Business can research information; download, upload forms and documents; pay application fee
Authority receives application and processes and notifies about result/outcome.

8. PSC in UK
UK’s PSC is available on businesslink.gov.uk (UKWelcomes for non UK-based companies)
all 433 UK local authorities plus a further 107 organisations
Applications mainly from UK-based businesses.
Volumes of transactions are increasing

9. UK PSC

10. PSC implementation across EU
Just information about the requirements
(BE, BG, CY, IR, MT)
Possibility to complete procedures online
(AT, CZ, DK, EE, FN, FR, DE ,HU, IR, LV, LT, LUX)
PSC not fully functioning yet
(RO, GR, IT, SK, SL)

11. 2nd tool: Simplification, screening
Requirements to be removed (black list - Art.14):
discriminations (directly or indirectly based on nationality)
prohibitions on having establishments in other MS
economic needs tests
involvement of competing operators in authorisations
Requirements to be evaluated (grey list - Art.15):
quantitative and territorial restrictions
fixed tariffs
specific legal form and shareholding requirements
ban on more than one establishment
minimum number of employees

12. Simplification In principle, authorities should not ask for:
Original documents
Certified copies of documents
Certified translations
Tacit consent - unless it is explicitly stated that tacit consent does not apply, the service provider can assume that authorisation has been granted if the authority does not reply within the timescale indicated.

13. Screening: Examples of removed barriers
French, Belgian and Dutch law abolished economic tests for large retail facilities
In Austria, a service provider can now operate more than one dance school.
An electrician in Luxembourg no longer needs separate authorisations each time they work with a different voltage.
In the Netherlands private education services can be provided by natural as well as legal persons

14. Examples of barriers remaining
In Austria, Italy, Greece and Cyprus tourist guides are subject to legal form requirements. A mountain guide in Austria must be a legal person.
In Austria a chimney sweep is subject to legal form, fixed tariffs and territorial restrictions, and banned from having more than one establishment.
In Greece, directors wishing to work in hotels of more than 1* must have graduated from a higher tourism school and speak at least one foreign language.

15. 3rd tool: Cooperation between authorities
Development of the “Internal Market Information system” (IMI) to support administrative cooperation between authorities.
Main features: search facilities, pre-translated questions and answers, secure communication between authorities.

16. IMI

17. WHEN? Agreed December 2006 Implementation deadline December 2009
Peer review process in 2010
Review – December 2011/2012
Full implementation a priority: transposition, PSC

18. National transposition:
23 Member States have adopted a horizontal law to transpose the directive.
In Austria and Luxembourg adoption of the horizontal law has accumulated serious delays.
In Austria, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg and Slovenia drafting of the required changes to sector-specific legislation is significantly behind schedule.

19. PSC establishment: PSCs are available in 22 Member States.
23 countries offer basic online PSC services in English, in addition to the national language(s). Five Member States only provide PSC services in their national language(s).
17 PSCs allow for the actual online completion of procedures.
In 14 countries the points of single contact are supported by physical offices where providers can obtain personal assistance.

20. A lot still needs to be done
Single Market for services: Full and effective implementation of the Services Directive
Many barriers still exist to effective cross-border businesses
Transparency
Effective information exchange

21. Thank you!