Legal provisions of COM(2016)823 - Legal and operational framework of the European services e-card introduced by Regulation …[ESC Regulation]…

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dossier COM(2016)823 - Legal and operational framework of the European services e-card introduced by Regulation …[ESC Regulation]….
document COM(2016)823 EN
date January 10, 2017


CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Contents

Article 1 - Subject matter

This Directive lays down the legal and operational framework for the European services e-card introduced by Regulation ……[ESC Regulation]……..

Article 2 - Scope

1. This Directive applies to the services listed in the Annex.

2. This Directive does not affect the matters mentioned in Article 1(2) to (7) of Directive 2006/123/EC.

It shall not apply to the activities and fields mentioned in Article 2(2) and (3) of Directive 2006/123/EC.

3. If the provisions of this Directive conflict with a provision of another Union act governing specific aspects of access to or exercise of a service activity in specific sectors or for specific professions, the provision of the other Union act shall prevail and shall apply to those specific sectors or professions.

This Directive shall be without prejudice to the rights of workers, the obligations of service providers and related controls in Member States laid down in Directives 96/71/EC and 2014/67/EU.

Article 3 - Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive the following definitions shall apply:

1. 'home Member State' means the Member State to which a provider addressed the application for a European services e-card;

2. 'host Member State' means the Member State in which a provider declared the intention to provide services making use of a European services e-card;

3. 'requirement' means a requirement as defined in Article 4 (7) of Directive 2006/123/EC;

4. 'coordinating authority' means an authority designated in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation …..[ESC Regulation]……….;

5. 'competent authority' means any of the following without prejudice to the third subparagraph of Article 16(5) :

(a) a competent authority as defined in Article 4 point 9 of Directive 2006/123/EC;

(b) a competent authority as defined in Article 3(1)(d) of Directive 2005/36/EC;

(c) any authority or body in charge of a central, commercial or company register in a Member State;

(d) any tax authority in a Member State;

6. 'public contract' means a contract as defined in Article 2(5) of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 32 ;

7. 'design contest' means a design contest as defined in Article 2(21) of Directive 2014/24/EU;

8. 'concession' means a concession as defined in Article 5(1) of Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 33 ;

9. 'authorisation scheme' means an authorisation scheme as defined in Article 4 (6) of Directive 2006/123/EC;

10. 'service' means a service as defined in Article 4(1) of Directive 2006/123/EC;

11. 'provider' means a provider as defined in Article 4(2) of Directive 2006/123/EC;

12. 'Member State of establishment' means a Member State of establishment as defined in Article 4(4) of Directive 2006/123/EC;

13. 'establishment' means establishment as defined in Article 4(5) of Directive 2006/123/EC;

14. 'notification scheme' means any procedure under which a provider is required to take steps towards a competent authority, giving information or submitting documents concerning access to a service activity or the exercise thereof, without the need for a formal or implied decision by that authority.

CHAPTER II
EUROPEAN SERVICES E-CARD

Article 4 - European services e-card as proof of establishment

Member States shall accept a valid European services e-card as proof that its holder is established in the territory of his home Member State and is entitled, in that territory, to provide the service activities covered by the e-card.

Article 5 - Effects of a European services e-card in the host Member State

1. A host Member State shall not impose any prior authorisation scheme, prior notification scheme or an establishment requirement on the holder of a previously issued European services e-card for temporary cross-border provision of services as a condition for such provision of services in its territory.

2. A host Member State shall not impose any prior authorisation scheme or prior notification scheme on the holder of a previously issued European services e-card for establishment as a condition for establishment in its territory through a branch, agency or office located in its territory.

3. A host Member State shall refrain from imposing on holders of a previously issued European services e-card requirements other than those referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 the compliance of which has been or is deemed to have been verified under Articles 11 to 13.

4. Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 are without prejudice to:

i) requirements imposed on providers in the context of selection procedures of candidates for authorisation schemes limited in number in accordance with EU law;

ii) requirements and other obligations, prohibitions, conditions or limits imposed on providers in the context of selection procedures of candidates for the provision of services under a public contract, a design contest or a concession;

iii) authorisation schemes, notification schemes or requirements concerning conditions specifically related to the site where the service is provided or to the site where the provider is established;

iv) requirements regarding recognition of professional qualifications as provided for by Articles 4 and 4f of Directive 2005/36/EC;

v) disclosure obligations as provided for by Article 2 of Directive 2009/101/EC and Article 2 of Directive 89/666/EEC or obligations, prohibitions, conditions or limits imposed by national rules on registration of branches of companies registered in another Member State under company law.

5. Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 are without prejudice to reporting obligations imposed on the holder of a European services e-card or the performance of checks, inspections or investigations from competent authorities during the provision of the service, in compliance with EU law.

Article 6 - Use of information contained in the European services e-card

Authorities in Member States shall not, in the context of any procedures or formalities imposed on a provider in their territory and in accordance with the rules on the protection of personal data as provided for in Directive 95/46/EC [, Regulation (EU) No 2016/679] and national legislation, require the holder of a European services e-card to provide any information which is already contained in the European services e-card, including for:

(i) the award of a public contract, a design contest or a concession;

(ii) formation of subsidiaries or registration of branches under company law;

(iii) registration with mandatory social insurance schemes.

Article 7 - Validity of a European services e-card

1. A European services e-card for temporary cross-border provision of services concerned by that e-card shall be valid throughout the territory of the host Member State.

A European services e-card for establishment shall be valid, as regards the service activities covered by that e-card, throughout the territory of the host Member State through one or more branches, agencies or offices located in the territory of this Member State except where an authorisation for each additional branch, agency or office is justified in accordance with Article 10(4) of Directive 2006/123/EC.

This shall be without prejudice to the obligation of the holder of a European services e-card to comply with obligations, prohibitions, conditions or limits imposed by national rules on registration of a branch under company law in order to provide services through such branch.

2. A European services e-card shall be valid for an indefinite duration, unless suspended, revoked or cancelled, in accordance with Articles 15 to 17.

This shall be without prejudice to measures put in place in accordance with Article 18 of Directive 2006/123/EC. 

CHAPTER III
EUROPEAN SERVICES E-CARD SCHEME

Article 8 - Application for a European services e-card

Member States shall ensure that providers with establishment in the territory of one Member State shall have the right to submit an application for a European services e-card to the coordinating authority of that same Member State.

The application shall consist of the elements and supporting documents as prescribed by Articles 4 and 5 of Regulation ……[ESC Regulation]……...

Article 9 - Eligibility

1. Providers of service activities for which a European professional card for the temporary and occasional provision of services has been introduced, in accordance with Directive 2005/36/EC, shall not be eligible for a European services e-card for the provision of temporary cross-border services.

2. Providers of service activities for which a European professional card for establishment has been introduced, in accordance with Directive 2005/36/EC, shall not be eligible for a European services e-card for establishment. Those providers shall be eligible for a European services e-card as regards requirements and provisions referenced in the second subparagraph of Article 4a(5) of Directive 2005/36 EC.

Article 10 - Right of Member States to invoke overriding reasons of public interest

In assessing applications for the European services e-card, Member States shall retain the right to invoke those overriding reasons of public interests recognised under Directive 2006/123/EC, in particular Article 16 thereof, or other acts of EU law.

Article 11 - Assessment of the application by the home Member State

1. The coordinating authority of the home Member State shall within one week of having received an application for a European services e-card:

(a) examine the application;

(b) verify the completeness and accuracy of the information provided;

(c) verify whether European services e-cards issued in relation to other home Member States for the same provider and service activity have been revoked or cancelled, or that cancelation has been requested to allow replacement of those e-cards by the European services e-card to which the application refers to;

(d) verify the content and validity of accompanying documents, if any, that prove compliance with requirements applicable to the service provision to which the applicant is subject in the home Member State;

(e) request supplementing of the application from the applicant, where necessary;

(f) complete the application form with the information obtained in accordance with Article 14(2);

(g) upload to the electronic platform where the standard form for application is made available the necessary documents, if any, obtained in accordance with Article 14(2).

Where the coordinating authority of the home Member State requests supplementing of the application from the applicant, the time-limit is suspended until that information is provided.

2. The coordinating authority of the home Member State shall, upon completion of the tasks referred to in paragraph 1, communicate without delay the application to the coordinating authority of the host Member State, with information to the applicant.

3. The decisions and actions by the coordinating authority of the home Member State, notified to the applicant through the electronic platform where the standard form for application is made available, or the absence of a decision or action within the time-limit shall be subject to appeal under national law of the home Member State.

4. The Commission shall adopt technical rules for the handling and processing of the application by means of implementing acts. These rules shall include time-limits on the expiration of the application due to inaction of the applicant.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 19(2).

Article 12 - Assessment by the host Member State of the application for a European services e-card for the provision of temporary cross-border services

1. Within two weeks from receiving the application the coordinating authority of the host Member State shall examine it and inform the applicant and the home Member State of any requirements applicable to temporary cross-border provisions under the legislation of the host Member State with the exception of those referred to in Article 5(4). In line with the rights of Member States as referred to in Article 10, the coordinating authority of the host Member State may within the same time-limit, decide to object to the issue of the European services e-card by the coordinating authority of the home Member State where it demonstrates that the application of a prior authorisation scheme, prior notification scheme or requirements to the applicant is justified for one of those overriding reasons of public interest set out in Article 16 of Directive 2006/123/EC or is admissible in accordance with other acts of EU law.

The host Member State shall take due account in that assessment of the requirements that the applicant already meets in its home Member States. For the purpose of that assessment and within the above-mentioned time-limit, the coordinating authority of the host Member State shall be allowed to request necessary clarifications or necessary additional information from the home Member State or the applicant which is not yet contained in the application. In that case, the time limit referred to in this paragraph is suspended until the requested necessary clarification or necessary additional information is supplied. The procedure for requesting clarifications or additional information will be laid down by way of the delegated acts referenced in paragraph 4.

An objection to grant a European services e-card may not be based on non-compliance with one of the requirements listed in Article 5(5). The Commission shall have access, via IMI, to the decision of objection by the coordinating authority of the host Member State.

2. Taking into account the rights of Member States as referred to in Article 10, if the coordinating authority of the host Member State does not react within the time-limit referred to in paragraph 1, that time limit shall automatically be extended by two additional weeks and the electronic platform where the application for a European services e-card has been submitted shall issue an alert to the coordinating authority of the host Member State to the effect that failure to react shall imply that there is no objection to the issue of the European services e-card to the applicant.

3. If the host Member State does not object in accordance with paragraph 1, the coordinating authority of the home Member State shall issue the European services e-card without delay upon expiration of the extended time-limit resulting from the application of paragraph 2. In the absence of any objection under the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 and failing a decision by the coordinating authority of the home Member State upon expiration of the extended time-limit resulting from the application of paragraph 2, the European services e-card shall be deemed to have been issued by the home Member State in the terms communicated to the host Member State in accordance with Article 11(2).

Upon receipt of the decision of the host Member State to object under paragraph 1 the home Member State shall refuse, without delay, the application for a European services e-card.

4. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 18 in order to specify the procedure for the coordinating authority of the host Member State to request clarifications or additional information from the home Member State or the applicant, and to modify, if necessary, the time-limits laid down in paragraph 1.

5. The decisions and actions of the coordinating authority of the home Member State, notified to the applicant through the electronic platform where the standard form for application is made available, shall be subject to appeal under national law of the home Member State.

The decision by the coordinating authority of the host Member State to object to the issue of the European services e-card, notified to the applicant through the electronic platform where the standard form for application is made available, shall be subject to appeal under national law of the host Member State.

6. The Commission shall adopt technical rules for the handling and processing of the application under paragraphs 1 and 2 by means of implementing acts. These rules shall include time-limits on the expiration of the application due to inaction of the applicant.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 19(2).

Article 13 - Assessment by the host Member State of the application for a European services e-card for establishment

1. In the context of a procedure for issuing a European services e-card for establishment in the form of a branch, agency or office, the coordinating authority of the host Member State shall, within four weeks from receiving the application, identify which, if any, prior authorisation scheme or prior notification scheme as referred to in Article 5(2) is applicable, in compliance with EU law, to such establishment. If such a prior authorisation scheme or prior notification scheme has been identified, the host Member State shall also identify the conditions which the applicant is required to comply with, with the exception of those referred to in Article 5(5). The host Member State shall indicate why the application of such a prior authorisation scheme or prior notification scheme is necessary and proportionate for the pursuance of overriding reasons of public interest.

The host Member State shall immediately inform the applicant and the coordinating authority of the home Member State of the prior authorisation or prior notification scheme in question, the conditions which the applicant is required to comply with and of the necessity and proportionality thereof.

2. Taking into account the rights of Member States as referred to in Article 10, if the coordinating authority of the host Member State does not react within the time-limit referred to in paragraph 1, that time limit shall automatically be extended by two additional weeks and the electronic platform where the application for a European services e-card has been submitted shall issue an alert to the coordinating authority of the host Member State to the effect that failure to react shall imply that the European services e-card shall be issued to the applicant.

3. Upon receipt of the reaction by the coordinating authority of the host Member State to the application, the applicant shall be allowed to provide proof of compliance with the conditions identified by the coordinating authority of the host Member State under the paragraph 1.

The applicant shall describe which specific conditions are complied with by previous compliance with equivalent requirements in the home Member State.

Member States shall ensure that the coordinating authority of the home Member State shall assist the applicant in proving compliance with host Member State conditions, in accordance with Article 14.

4. The coordinating authority of the host Member State shall assess, within one week upon receipt of proof of compliance with the conditions identified in accordance with paragraph 1, whether to issue the European services e-card or reject the application for the European services e-card.

In case the coordinating authority of the host Member State decides to issue the European services e-card, it shall do so without delay.

Alternatively, the coordinating authority of the host Member State may inform the applicant and the coordinating authority of the home Member State of its intention to reject the application, in which case the applicant shall have a week to present its observations.

Upon receipt of the observations of the applicant or, where no observations have been made, upon expiration of the time-limit to present those observations, the coordinating authority of the host Member State shall decide, within one week, whether to issue the European services e-card or reject the application for the European services e-card.

5. The coordinating authority of the host Member State shall be allowed to request necessary clarifications or necessary additional information from the home Member State or the applicant which is not yet contained in the application. In that case, the time limits referred to in paragraphs 1 and 4 are suspended until the requested necessary clarification or necessary additional information is supplied.

Clarifications and additional information shall be requested in accordance with the procedure laid down in accordance with paragraph 7.

6. In case the host Member State, upon expiration of the periods for its reaction mentioned in paragraphs , 2 and 4, does not request compliance with any condition under paragraph 1 or does not take the decision to issue the European services e-card under paragraph 4, the European services e-card shall be deemed to have been issued by the host Member State in the terms communicated to the host Member State in accordance with Article 11(2).

7. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 18 in order to specify the procedure for the coordinating authority of the host Member State to request clarifications or additional information from the home Member State as referred to in paragraph 5, and to modify if necessary the time-limits mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 4.

8. The decisions and actions by the coordinating authority of the home Member State, notified to the applicant through the electronic platform where the standard form for application is made available, shall be subject to appeal under national law of the home Member State.

The decisions of the coordinating authority of the host Member State to request compliance with conditions under paragraph 1 and its decision on issue of the European services e-card, notified to the applicant through the electronic platform where the standard form for application is made available, shall be subject to appeal under national law of the host Member State.

9. Member States shall not require application for a registration of a branch under company law as a precondition to assess the application for a European services e-card for establishment.

This shall be without prejudice to the obligation of the holder of a European services e-card to comply with national obligations, prohibitions, conditions or limits imposed regarding registration of a branch under company law in order to provide services through such a branch in compliance with EU law.

10. The Commission shall adopt technical rules for the handling and processing of the application under paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 by means of implementing acts. These rules shall include time-limits on the expiration of the application due to inaction of the applicant.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 19(2).

Article 14 - Once-only principle in the home Member State

1. Coordinating authorities in the home Member State shall not require providers to provide information and documents which are available to those authorities in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article or Article 14(3) of Regulation ….[ESC Regulation]….. when applying for a European services e-card or to prove compliance, in the context of a European services e-card for establishment, with conditions identified by the coordinating authority of the host Member State in accordance with Article 13(1).

2. The coordinating authority in the home Member State shall obtain the information and documents required for the purposes referred to in paragraph 1 which are available to other authorities in the home Member State or originate from those authorities, in accordance with the rules on the protection of personal data as provided for in Directive 95/46/EC, Regulation (EU) No 2016/679 and national legislation.

Article 15 - Suspension and revocation of a European services e-card in relation to a host Member State

1. Member States shall ensure that the coordinating authority who issued a European services e-card suspends its validity or revokes it in case, respectively, of a decision, in accordance with EU law, determining a temporary or permanent ban on provision of the service activities in question by the European services e-card holder in the host Member State.

2. Member States shall ensure that coordinating authorities who issued a European services e-card revoke it in case the e-card holder:

(i) made use of information or documents in the context of the procedure to issue the e-card which have been ascertained to be fraudulent, inaccurate or falsified by a final decision of either home or host Member State, not subject to appeal under the applicable national law;

34 (ii) is subject to a final decision, in compliance with Article 4(5) of Directive 2014/67/EC, not subject to appeal under national law, by the host Member State that it considers the holder of a European services e-card to be a worker and not a self-employed person, in accordance with Article 2(2) of Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;

(iii) does not meet one or more conditions applicable for temporary cross-border provision as prescribed by the first subparagraph of Article 11(1), the compliance of which, under the national law of the host Member State, is essential to continued legal provision of the services in question in its territory;

(iv) does not meet one or more conditions imposed in the context of a prior authorisation or prior notification scheme applicable for establishment as prescribed by the first subparagraph of Article 12(1), the compliance of which, under the national law of the host Member State, is essential to continued legal provision of the services in question in its territory.

Article 16 - Suspension and revocation of all European services e-cards of a service provider for a certain service activity

1. Member States shall ensure that, in case of a decision, in accordance with EU law, determining a temporary or permanent ban on provision of the service activities by the European services e-card holder in the home Member State, the coordinating authorities who issued a European services e-card suspend the validity of or revoke, respectively, all European services e-cards issued for the same provider and service activity in question.

2. Member States shall ensure that, in case of a decision determining a temporary or permanent ban on provision of the service activities by the European services e-card holder in the host Member State, coordinating authorities who issued a European services e-card suspend the validity of or revoke, respectively, all European services e-cards issued for the same provider and service activity in so far as the national law of the home Member State determines, in accordance with EU law, the suspension or termination of service activities in its territory due to, respectively, the temporary or permanent ban in question in the host Member State.

3. Member States shall ensure coordinating authorities who issued a European services e-card revoke all European services e-cards issued for the same provider and service activities in case that provider:

(i) permanently ceases to provide the services in question in the home Member State;

(ii) is wound-up and dissolved;

(iii) changes its main centre of activities relevant for issue of the e-cards in question from one Member State to another Member State;

(iv) changes its main centre of activities relevant for issue of the e-cards in question to a third country;

(v) is subject to a final decision not subject to appeal under national law, by the home Member State that it considers the holder of a European services e-card to be a worker and not a self-employed person;

(vi) is no longer established in the home Member State, for any other reason. 

Article 17 - Procedure for the suspension, revocation, update and cancellation of European services e-cards

1. A Member State which detects a reason to trigger the suspension or revocation of a European services e-card, in accordance with Articles 15 or 16, occurring in its territory shall communicate via IMI to the holder of the European services e-card in question the motivation therefore and shall give it the opportunity to be heard.

This shall be without prejudice to an alert under Article 32 of Directive 2006/123/EC.

2. Once a Member State concludes on the need to suspend or revoke a European services e-card it shall do so without delay, in case its coordinating authority is the issuing authority of the e-card in question, or it shall communicate without delay to the issuing coordinating authority its conclusion on the need to suspend or revoke the European services e-card in question.

The issuing coordinating authority which receives the communication of a conclusion on the need to suspend or revoke the European services e-card from another Member State shall immediately suspend or revoke the European services e-card in question, as appropriate.

Member States shall ensure that, as soon as the conditions which led to the suspension of a European services e-card are no longer valid, the issuing coordinating authority reactivates, without delay, the suspended European services e-card.

3. A decision to suspend or revoke a European services e-card, notified to the applicant through the electronic platform where the standard form for application is made available, shall be duly motivated and be subject to appeal under national law of the Member State concerned.

The absence of a decision to reactivate a suspended European services e-card in accordance with the last subparagraph of paragraph 2 shall be subject to appeal under national law of the Member State concerned.

This paragraph shall be without prejudice to the second subparagraph of paragraph 2.

4. Member States shall oblige the holder of a European services e-card to inform the coordinating authority which issued its European services e-card of the following:

(a) decisions restricting or prohibiting, even temporarily, in either home or host Member State the provision by the holder of the European services e-card of service activities covered by that same e-card;

(b) permanent cessation of activities covered by the European services e-card in the territory of the home Member State;

(c) winding-up and dissolution of the holder of the European services e-card or change of its main centre of activities within the territory of the European Union or to a third country;

(d) final decisions not subject to appeal under national law, by either the home or, in compliance with Article 4(5) of Directive 2014/67/EC, by the host Member State that it considers the holder of a European services e-card to be a worker and not a self-employed;

(e) any significant change as regards the requirements that the holder of the e-card is subject to in its home Member State to the extent that information on compliance with these requirements had been communicated to the host Member State together with the e-card application;

(f) changes in the factual situation or any other elements of information regarding the holder of a European services e-card which are reflected in its content.

5. Coordinating authorities shall exchange information on their own initiative and give assistance to other coordinating authorities in relation to events that have come to their knowledge which may determine a suspension or revocation of the European services e-card in question or the need to otherwise update its content.

Member States shall ensure that their competent authorities inform the coordinating authority they designated in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation …[ESC Regulation]… of the events listed in paragraph 4 that have come to their knowledge.

In relation to point (d) of paragraph 4, this paragraph shall also apply to competent authorities as defined in Article 2(a) of Directive 2014/67/EU.

This paragraph shall be without prejudice to Article 2 of Directive 2009/101/EC and Article 2 of Directive 89/666/EEC.

6. The holder of a European services e-card may request the cancellation of its previously issued European services e-card to the issuing coordinating authority at any time.

7. The Commission shall adopt technical rules for the processing of suspensions, revocations, updates and cancelations of European services e-cards by means of implementing acts, including provisions on the introduction and withdrawal of alerts of possible suspension and revocation and on the interconnection between these procedures and the alert mechanism set up under Article 32 of Directive 2006/123/EC as well as the interconnection between a valid European services e-card and the procedure for case-by-case derogations in accordance with Article 18 of Directive 2006/123/EC.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 19(2). 

CHAPTER IV
FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 18 - Exercise of the delegation

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 12(4) and Article 13(7) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from […]. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the five-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.

3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 12(4) and Article 13(7) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

5. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 12(4) and Article 13(7) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

Article 19 - Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee referred to in Article 40(1) of Directive 2006/123/EC. That Committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 182/2011.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 182/2011 shall apply.

Article 20 - Monitoring of implementation

The Commission, with Member States, social partners and other relevant stakeholders, will establish monitoring arrangements to monitor and assess the implementation and impacts of this Directive, in particular how it impacts freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services across Member States for the service activities covered, namely by reducing costs for providers, enhancing transparency about providers expanding cross-border and increasing competition, and how it impacts prices and quality of the services concerned, considering relevant indicators.

Article 21 - Review clause

By [24 months after the date for transposition of this Directive] the Commission shall carry out an assessment of the appropriateness of additional measures to coordinate provisions concerning the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services for which a European services e-card has been introduced.

By 36 months after the date for transposition of this Directive and at the latest every five years thereafter, the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of this Directive and submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on its performance. That report shall consider the need to adapt the procedures for issuing, updating, suspending or revoking a European services e-card taking into account the latest developments in e-Government and shall be included in the report assessing the overall performance of Regulation …[ESC Regulation]… in line with its Article 19.

Article 22 - Transposition

1. Member States shall adopt and publish, by [two years after entry into force of this Directive] at the latest, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions.

They shall apply those provisions from [two years after entry into force of Regulation ….[ESC Regulation]……...].

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 23 - Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the [twentieth] day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 24 - Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.