COM(2002)441 - State of the internal market for services presented under the first stage of the Internal Market Strategy for Services

official title

 

Legal instrument	Report
reference by COM-number479	COM(2002)441
Additional COM-numbers	COM(2002)441
CELEX number482	52002DC0441

This page is also available in a full version containing the latest state of affairs, the summary of the European Parliament Legislative Observatory, the legal context, other dossiers related to the dossier at hand, the stakeholders involved (e.g. European Commission directorates-general, European Parliament committees, Council configurations and even individual EU Commissioners and Members of the European Parliament) and finally documents of the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Commission.

• 1. 

  Presidency conclusions, Lisbon European Council, 24.3.2000, 17. More recently, the ECOFIN Council, in its recommendation 10093/02 of 21 June 2002 concerning the Broad Guidelines of the Economic Policy of the Member States and the Community, considered that it was necessary to re-launch structural reform, which should include creating 'an effectively functioning Internal Market in services by the removal of barriers to cross-border trade and market entry'.
  
   
• 2. 

  2412th meeting of the Council (Internal Market/Consumer Protection/ Tourism), Brussels 1 March 2002, document 6496/02 MI 35.
  
   
• 3. 

  Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament, An Internal Market Strategy for Services, COM (2000) 888 final, 29.12.2000.
  
   
• 4. 

  It should be noted that in the context of the e-Europe 2005 action plan the Commission, in co-operation with the Member States, will re-examine applicable legislation in order to identify, and, as the case may be, to remove those problems which prevent business from taking up e-business and consumers from benefiting from the Internal Market. This examination will in particular consider how to ensure that the provision of goods and services off-line can, as with services provided on-line, benefit from a true internal market. An e-summit to be organised in 2003 will mark the launch of this examination involving all interested parties, and will provide high-level representatives of economic operators the opportunity to describe the difficulties encountered in the context of e-business.
  
   
• 5. 

  European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication 'An Internal Market Strategy for Services', A5-0310/2001, 4.10.2001
  
   
• 6. 

  Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the Communication from the Commission 'An Internal Market Strategy for Services' (Additional Opinion) CES 1472/2001, INT/105, 28.11.2001
  
   
• 7. 

  Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the Communication from the Commission 'An Internal Market Strategy for Services', 134/2001 fin, 27.06.2001
  
   
• 8. 

  Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, 2002 Review of the Internal Market Strategy: Delivering the promise, COM (2002) 171 final, 11.4.2002.
  
   
• 9. 

  Consumer policy strategy COM (2002) 208. See also the Communication on the follow up to the Green Paper on consumer protection COM (2002) 289 and notably the proposal currently under consultation on a framework directive on commercial practices.
  
   
• 10. 

  COM(2001)531 final.
  
   
• 11. 

  Following the request of the Council and the European Parliament, the Commission will present these initiatives by the end of 2002.
  
   
• 12. 

  Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament on European Contract Law COM(2002) 398 final, 11 July 2001.
  
   
• 13. 

  OJ L 239, 22 September 2000
  
   
• 14. 

  The free movement of persons without controls at borders between Member States benefits EU citizens and members of their family, but it also allows foreigners holding a residence permit from a Member State to circulate freely without a visa on the territory of Member States for up to 3 months (article 21 of the Convention applying the Schengen agreement of 14 June 1985, signed at Schengen on 19 June 1990). However, this legal principle does not allow service providers who are third country nationals to supply their service in a Member States other than one in which they are established.
  
   
• 15. 

  Programmes généraux pour la suppression des restrictions à la liberté d'établissement et à la libre prestation des services, OJ C 2, 15.1.1962.
  
   
• 16. 

  Completing the Internal Market : White Paper from the Commission to the European Council (Milan, 28-29 June 1985), COM (85) 310, 14.6.1985.
  
   
• 17. 

  'The European Challenge, 1992: The Benefits of a Single Market', Paolo Cecchini, Wildwood House, for the European Commission, 1988.
  
   
• 18. 

  These 'barrier effects' and the fact that they largely replace the technical, physical and tax barriers referred to in the 1985 White Paper on the completion of the Internal Market, already cited above, explains the use of the term 'legal barriers'.
  
   
• 19. 

  The inventory also includes difficulties identified in candidate countries. It should be borne in mind that very many of the difficulties cited in Member States are also encountered in candidate countries.
  
   
• 20. 

  See in particular a study entitled 'Service internationalisation characteristics, Potential, Barriers', A. Henten, T. Vad, CRIC workshop, Manchester 1-3.10.2001, section 3, which stresses that the services sector is more dependent than manufacturing on cross-border establishment.
  
   
• 21. 

  For example, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products.
  
   
• 22. 

  For example, gambling activities or the distribution of pharmaceutical products. See also a OECD study entitled 'Regulatory reform in road freight and retail distribution', Economic Department working papers No 255, 10.08.2000, section 39 et seq., and a study carried out for the Commission entitled 'Barriers to Trade in Business Services', Centre for Strategy and Evaluation Services, January 2001, page 15.
  
   
• 23. 

  For example, national regulations stipulating there may be only one provider of chimney-sweeping services per district or per commune.
  
   
• 24. 

  For retail services, for example.
  
   
• 25. 

  For example, in one Member State medical laboratories may only analyse specimens collected at least 60 km away, while in another the mimimum distance between opticians is fixed at 350 metres, and in another shopping centres must be in city-centre locations, which prevents the establishment of new entrants.
  
   
• 26. 

  For example, private security services. Concerning the difficulties encountered in connection with services of this type, see a study conducted by CoESS/UNI-Europa and financed by the Commission entitled 'A comparative overview of legislation concerning the private security industry in the European Union'. ECOTEC, May 2002. In the context of the social dialogue, the European social partners in the private security sector (the CoESS for the employers and UNI-Europa for the unions) signed on 13 December 2001 a joint declaration on European harmonisation of legislation governing the private security sector.
  
   
• 27. 

  For example, engineering enterprises, aero-clubs and NGOs.
  
   
• 28. 

  For example, chartered surveyors.
  
   
• 29. 

  One such requirement may be that an applicant for a telecommunications service licence must be resident in the particular country (even before he or she has obtained the licence).
  
   
• 30. 

  For example, financial services, regulated professions, craftspersons, private security services, certification bodies, drinking water testing laboratories, trade fair organisers, telecommunications services providers, employment agencies and performers' agents, transport and processing of waste.
  
   
• 31. 

  For employment agencies or private security services, for example.
  
   
• 32. 

  In one contribution it was even stated that one had to be a 'collector of licences' in order to set up a bakery business in one particular country, as the requisite authorisations varied depending on the types of products and activities of one and the same bakery. Given these difficulties, the operator in question abandoned the plan of becoming established. The multiplicity and duplication of authorisations had also been identified as a problem in the 'Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on concerted action with the Member States in the field of enterprise policy' COM (1999) 569 final, section 2.1.1.
  
   
• 33. 

  See, for example, a study entitled 'Tackling the impact of increasing regulation - A case study of hotels and restaurants'. Better Regulation Task force (UK), June 2000.
  
   
• 34. 

  Those applicable to distribution services, for example.
  
   
• 35. 

  In one Member State, for example, this relates to a genuine need on the part of consumers with regard to existing shops; in another, the criterion is that there must be no negative impact on existing town-centre shops; and in another the granting of a licence is subject to a condition relating to the need for a performer's agent's activity 'in terms for the demand for the placement of performance artists'.
  
   
• 36. 

  For example, the difficulties encountered in opening retail outlets because of authorisation or registration requirements and the associated administrative formalities were identified in the OECD study cited above (section 39 et seq.) as being one of the chief restrictions on market access in the distributive trades sector. An Anglo-French study on the services sector in the United Kingdom and France underscores the negative effects on employment at the local level which are caused by licensing and numerus clausus systems applicable to some activities: 'The service sector in the UK and France. Addressing barriers to the Growth of Output and Employment. An Anglo-French Report.', Department of Trade and Industry and Ministère de l'économie, des finances et de l'industrie (Ministry of Economic Affairs, Finance and Industry), 2000, page 89.
  
   
• 37. 

  A business survey attached as an annex to the November 2000 Internal Market Scoreboard shows that 91% of the companies interviewed attached the highest priority to a simplification of administrative procedures europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/update See also 'Report on the implementation of the European Charter for small enterprises', COM (2002) 68 final, which stresses in particular that 'the total number of procedures for starting a business could be an important target for simplification'(section 4: Conclusions); 'Report of the Business Environment Simplification Task Force- Best' volume 1, OPOCE 1998 ; "Etude comparative internationale des dispositions légales et administratives nécessaires pour la formation des PME dans six pays de l'Union européenne" (comparative international study of the legal and administrative provisions governing the creation of SMEs in six countries of the European Union, Logotech, European Innovation Monitoring System, EIMS Publication No 27, March 1996.
  
   
• 38. 

  For example, in numerous Member States lawyers are not allowed to enter into partnerships with non-lawyers, e.g. accountants, tax consultants or patent agents. Other forms of restrictions may also exist. In one Member State, for example, only tax advisers, tax consultants or tax agents may be shareholders or executives of companies providing tax consultancy services, Concerning the rules applicable in the United Kingdom, see for example a report entitled 'Competition in professions', Office of Fair Trading, March 2001, section 30.
  
   
• 39. 

  See, for example, studies on cases concerning incompatibilities between the activity of an auditor and that of an accountant in the above-cited survey carried out for the Commission entitled 'Barriers to Trade in Business Services', appendices, case studies 6. See also the judgement of 9 February 2002 Wouters C-309/99, on the prohibition of multi-disciplinary partnerships between members of the Bar and accountants.
  
   
• 40. 

  In one Member State, for example, such a requirement applies to employment agencies.
  
   
• 41. 

  For example, in one Member State real estate services and insurance activities.
  
   
• 42. 

  In one Member State, for example, trade fair organisers must be non-profit-making.
  
   
• 43. 

  Other activities are also affected by this type of problem, e.g. auditors.
  
   
• 44. 

  Restrictions may also include a maximum investment, as in the media sector, or an obligation to find other shareholders or co-investors for certain areas of activity. It should be noted that the Anglo-French report cited above also identified (page 36) minimum-capital requirements as being one of the main obstacles to service activities.
  
   
• 45. 

  In one Member State, for example, employment agencies must have at least 12 employees per 100 contracts concluded in the previous year. In other Member States, companies providing private security services must employ a minimum number of staff depending on the activities and territory covered.
  
   
• 46. 

  It should be noted that, quite apart from problems concerning the recognition of professional qualifications, differences in rules governing the professional training of employees may cause certain difficulties, as in the case of companies providing private-security services, which are subject to specific requirements in some Member States.
  
   
• 47. 

  For example, engineers and consulting engineers, tax advisers, estate agents, surveyors, landscape architects, managing agents of blocks of flats, consultants, craftspersons.
  
   
• 48. 

  For example, one Member State has established a specific vocational title for services consisting of drafting labour law documents which does not exist in any other Member State and which is subject to authorisation and an obligation to be entered in a national registry specific to this new profession.
  
   
• 49. 

  See the already cited 'Report of the Business Environment Simplification Task Force', page 65, which states that, in some fields, the aptitude-test requirement 'has tended to become the rule rather than the exception'.
  
   
• 50. 

  For example, a carpentry diploma obtained in one Member State does not authorise the holder to exercise the profession of a 'carpenter/joiner' in another.
  
   
• 51. 

  This type of restrictive effect was also identified in the OECD study already cited, sections 49-51.
  
   
• 52. 

  For example, taxation in respect of GSM transmission masts, or the setting of electromagnetic emission thresholds.
  
   
• 53. 

  See the study 'Taxation of companies in the Internal Market' SEC(2001)1681, which, inter alia, examines in detail the principal fiscal provisions likely to constrain cross-border economic activity in the Internal Market. On the basis of this analysis the Commission presented a strategy to remove such obstacles. Communication from the Commission: 'Towards an Internal Market without tax obstacles - a strategy for providing companies with a consolidated corporate tax base for their EU-wide activities' (COM(2001)582 final).
  
   
• 54. 

  While human resources are one of the most important inputs for the provision of services, contributions also showed the cross-border deployment and posting of staff continue to cause service providers major difficulties which are hardly encountered at all by manufacturers of goods. Concerning the low level of worker mobility in border areas, see a study carried out for the Commission entitled 'Scientific Report on the Mobility of Cross-border Workers within the EEA', MKW Wirtschaftsforschung GmbH, November 2001, section 1.3.
  
   
• 55. 

  Concerning this, see the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Council and the Committee of the Regions - Commission' Action Plan for skills and mobility, COM (2002) 72 of 13 February 2002.
  
   
• 56. 

  Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services (OJ L 18, 21 January 1997 p1). This Directive aims to guarantee observance of the fundamental freedoms of the Treaty while at the same time protecting workers. The Directive also obliges Member States to establish co-operation between national administrations and to designate liaison offices.
  
   
• 57. 

  These formalities have to be completed for each individual site. A service provider who regularly posts personnel for short periods cannot obtain an authorisation valid, for example, for one year. In one Member State, the obligation to make a prior declaration has to be met, before work on each individual site commences, for each temporary worker provided by an employment agency established in another Member State.
  
   
• 58. 

  For example, the costs of translating certain employment documents into the language of the host country.
  
   
• 59. 

  For example, the obligation to apply for a residence permit.
  
   
• 60. 

  For example, the obligation to draw up certain social and employment documents and make them available for the inspection authorities, or to keep such documents on file with a social representative in the host country for a certain period of time, and to translate these documents in their entirety into the language of the host country.
  
   
• 61. 

  Whether they are nationals of a Member State or a non-EU country.
  
   
• 62. 

  As regards wages in particular several contributions show that restrictions result from disparities in the methods of calculating wages. Some contributions, for example, highlight difficulties linked to a failure by the host country to take account of all the components making up remuneration in the country of establishment (e.g. 13th or 14th month's salary) which may mean that remuneration is higher than that imposed by law in the host country.
  
   
• 63. 

  For example, the obligation to contribute to a third party institution (such as a paid leave fund) despite the fact that the posted workers already enjoy a comparable benefit by virtue of national provisions guaranteeing holiday pay. In one such instance, payment for the contract was withheld until the matter had gone through the courts.
  
   
• 64. 

  See "Artisanat, Petites entreprises et zones frontalières - Analyse de cas particuliers d'entreprises travaillant en pays limitrophes (seconde action expérimentale)" (The crafts sector, small enterprises and border areas - Analyses of specific cases of enterprises working in neighbouring countries
   
• 65. 

  In one Member State, for example, the minimum fine is EUR 1,000, including for simple material errors, and can range up to EUR 26,000.
  
   
• 66. 

  These range from an obligation to obtain a work permit in the host country, the granting of which depends on an assessment of the labour market there, to a 'work visa' or residence permit, without which no posting can take place.
  
   
• 67. 

  Concerning this, see in particular a study entitled 'Managing mobility matters - a European perspective', PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2002, section 2.5, as well as the 'Report of the High Level Panel on free movement of persons' chaired by Mrs Simone Veil and presented to the Commission on 18 September 1997, "(the Veil Report), chapter 6.
  
   
• 68. 

  Moreover, the fact that third-country nationals who are insured in one Member State are not, in principle, covered by the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of the Council of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving within the Community, is also liable to make it more difficult and costly to post them to another Member State. A proposal from the Commission seeking to extend the field of application of regulation 1408/71 to third country nationals was agreed by Ministers at the Council of 3 June 2002.
  
   
• 69. 

  For example, in order to make up skills shortages, cope with a heavy workload, particularly on account of seasonal factors, or manage their resources with a degree of flexibility.
  
   
• 70. 

  The conditions and procedures for authorisation, the length of time they take, as well as the associated guarantees and deposits, can likewise exacerbate the restrictive effects of these authorisation rules. The granting of an authorisation may be linked to the quality or the structure of the service provider or to the agency having a minimum capital stock. It may also be conditional on guarantees or securities being deposited or on the payment of duties. In one Member State, a user enterprise that had to cope with a temporary rise in its workload was unable to use an agency established in a Member State on account of the time it would have taken for the requisite licence to be granted (four months). Moreover, the obligation imposed in some Member States to first consult trade union organisations, even in urgent cases, is also liable to slow down the procedure appreciably.
  
   
• 71. 

  An agency may be required to have a local representative, or to be 'active' in several regions of one and the same Member State.
  
   
• 72. 

  Particular mention was made of 'niche' sectors (such as high-tech activities and civil aviation), but also the building and construction sectors, as well as the tourism, hotels and health sectors.
  
   
• 73. 

  For example, an air transport company was unable to use the services of an employment agency specialising in providing airline transport pilots because the agency in question was not established in the same Member State as the air transport company.
  
   
• 74. 

  Such prohibitions affect several sectors (construction, the merchant navy, the public sector, removals and low-skill activities) but may also be limited by particular considerations (increased workload at an enterprise, performance of specific and exceptional tasks, replacement of seasonal employees or activities, launching of a new activity).
  
   
• 75. 

  This is compounded by tax and social provisions specific to temporary employment which have the effect of making staff provided by an employment agency established in another Member State more expensive. For example, the user enterprise may be subject to double taxation from the first day of providing its service or to higher social security contributions. In some Member States, it may also be required to pay end-of-contract compensation.
  
   
• 76. 

  It should be noted that the difficulties relating to nationality, residence and professional-qualification requirements which were raised in the section concerning the establishment of service providers are likewise a restriction on worker mobility.
  
   
• 77. 

  Particularly in the information-technology, communications, construction, health and tourism sectors.
  
   
• 78. 

  Disparities concerning taxation (level and structure of taxes) were cited in several contributions as being a major obstacle to the mobility of labour, as migrant and cross-border workers are often more heavily taxed in spite of bilateral agreements on double taxation (see the Veil Report as well as the study entitled 'Managing mobility matters - a European perspective' both op cit.).
  
   
• 79. 

  Disparities relating in particular to income tax and pension rights were identified in the above-cited studies entitled 'Barriers to trade in Business services' (section 4) and 'Managing mobility matters - a European perspective', as having a negative impact on an operator's ability to exercise its activities in several Member States and, in particular, to recruit personnel locally in another Member State.
  
   
• 80. 

  For example, an enterprise that wishes to recruit qualified personnel will not always be able to inform candidates of the exact amount of taxes and contributions which they will have to pay, even though matters have been simplified by the introduction of the euro.
  
   
• 81. 

  Contributions highlighted, above all, problems encountered in the application of the Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 relating to the co-ordination of social security schemes (difficulties in determining the applicable scheme, in particular to border workers, non-application of the provisions of the regulation to benefits under collective agreements, e.g. in the case of occupational pensions. Moreover, some problems of double deduction of contributions have occurred in spite of the implementation of forms E101 and E128 used in case of a posting. The Commission has made a proposal to simplify this regulation.
  
   
• 82. 

  The difficulties concerning the transferability of supplementary pension rights acquired by migrant workers are highlighted in particular by the above-cited Commission Action Plan on Skills and Mobility.
  
   
• 83. 

  For example, equipment used by analysis laboratories, trade-fair exhibitors, certifying veterinary officers, opticians, chiropodists and construction enterprises (who have to cope with divergent legislation regarding construction equipment and undergo multiple inspections of hired cranes, with serious consequences in terms of additional costs and delays). Difficulties may also include the requirement for SMS companies to connect up with each operator involved in the cross-border transmission of messages.
  
   
• 84. 

  For example, requiring a chiropodist who is established in another Member State to have non-transportable equipment and a permanent infrastructure in the country of service provision is tantamount to imposing an establishment requirement in order for services to be provided.
  
   
• 85. 

  A wide range of sectors (the regulated professions, distribution, telecommunications, press, publishing, cinema and financial services) are affected by bans or limitations on the use of commercial communications.
  
   
• 86. 

  For example, the advertising of medicines available without a medical prescription may require prior authorisation, and the advertising of fruit and vegetable prices outside the point of sale may be subject to the existence of a multi-sector agreement. See OECD study entitled 'Assessing barriers to trade in services: retail trade services', 2 October 2000.
  
   
• 87. 

  For example, some Member States stipulate that prior approval is required for promotional lotteries and games.
  
   
• 88. 

  For example, for mobile poster campaigns, particularly for the deployment of vehicles carrying commercial messages for each district of a city.
  
   
• 89. 

  In some Member States, for example, organisers of a promotional lottery or game have to make a declaration to the public authorities. In other Member States, any advertising on the part of a teaching establishment has to be notified in advance to the national ministry of education.
  
   
• 90. 

  For example, television advertising may be completely prohibited for certain sectors, as is the case in one particular Member State in respect of the distribution, press, publishing and cinema sectors.
  
   
• 91. 

  Some communication bans are often designed to protect minors. In some Member States, for example, television advertising aimed at children is completely banned at certain times. In other Member States, television advertising for toys is prohibited between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
  
   
• 92. 

  Numerous professions are affected by these kinds of restrictions: auditors, physicians, pharmacists, architects, accountants, notaries, lawyers.
  
   
• 93. 

  In one Member State, for example, a regulation on sales promotions provides that the value of prizes offered in promotional lotteries and games must not exceed EUR0.7.
  
   
• 94. 

  In one Member State, for example, it is prohibited to refer to a solarium as 'biolarium'.
  
   
• 95. 

  These restrictions may cover all advertising or just advertising messages relating to certain services (such as investment services) and may even apply in cases where the advertising concerned is aimed specifically at nationals of other Member States, such as foreign tourists.
  
   
• 96. 

  Where regulated professions such as auditors are concerned, for example, some Member States prohibit the unsolicited promotion of services, which may prevent such professionals from sending newsletters or brochures. For instance, a gravestone distributor was formally threatened with prosecution in another Member State for having faxed to undertakers in that country unsolicited (price) information about its activities.
  
   
• 97. 

  In some Member States, for example, the making of telephone calls to potential customers with a view to offering financial services is authorised only if the canvasser has obtained the prior consent of the client. In others, telephone canvassing is prohibited even if the persons targeted have been informed in advance in writing.
  
   
• 98. 

  For example, consumer associations have been taken to court for violation of honest trade practices following the publication of comparative tests.
  
   
• 99. 

  In one Member State, for example, it is forbidden to cite comparative tests in advertising.
  
   
• 100. 

  These still exist in some Member States for certain professions, such as notaries and surveyors.
  
   
• 101. 

  This requirements comes in various guises: an operator may be required to have its head office, a secondary establishment, a residence or a permanent presence etc. in a particular country.
  
   
• 102. 

  For example, wine transport and storage enterprises, building construction enterprises, patent agents, employment agencies, private security services, clinical analysis laboratories, boiler inspectors, enterprises handling the transport of deceased persons.
  
   
• 103. 

  A local representative is sometimes compulsory for the purpose of completing administrative formalities or for tax reasons.
  
   
• 104. 

  For regulated professions, for example, including tourist guides, mountain guides, craftspersons, trade-fair organisers, providers of telecommunications services, certification bodies, drinking water testing laboratories, patent agents, employment agencies, performers' agents, private security services, waste transport, importation and treatment companies, ambulance companies, leasing enterprises, enterprises providing cross-border electronic installation services. Several cases were also identified where national approval is regarded as being a de facto prerequisite for participation in public contracts. See study entitled 'Barriers to Trade in Business Services' cited above.
  
   
• 105. 

  For example, this was identified by estate agents and by tourist guides of certain nationalities.
  
   
• 106. 

  In some Member States, for example, construction enterprises have to register with a professional body, landscape architects with that profession's national association; craftspersons have to be entered in the national register of artisans (including for activities of an exceptional nature and of limited duration), and numerous regulated professions are subject to a requirement to register with a professional body or trade association. What is more, cross-sectoral obligations may exist, such as the regulation in one particular Member State which requires any foreign enterprise whose activity exceeds 30 working days to register with the chamber of commerce.
  
   
• 107. 

  In one Member State, for example, a separate declaration has to be made for every construction site.
  
   
• 108. 

  For example, for employment agencies, private security services or architects.
  
   
• 109. 

  For example, wine transport enterprises.
  
   
• 110. 

  For example, circus artists are sometimes confronted with long and complex procedures which are irreconcilable with the high level of mobility and frequency of travel which characterise this type of activity.
  
   
• 111. 

  For example, auditors, telecommunications operators, employment agencies, and private security services (which in one country are required to have legal personality).
  
   
• 112. 

  For example, for engineers, patent agents, electricians, and taxi drivers in some border regions. Difficulties in obtaining the qualification required in the country of destination were also highlighted by service providers carrying out electrical and sanitary installation work. Sport physiotherapists pointed out certain problems stemming from a lack of precise details as to the qualifications required by another Member State in which they were merely accompanying athletes visiting that country. See also studies entitled 'Principen om ömsesidigt rekännande på tjänsteområdet ' (The principle of mutual recognition in the services sector), Kommerskollegium, 26.October 2000; and 'Rapport om barrierer for integration i Øresundsregionen' (Report on barriers to integration in the Öresund region) Öresund Chamber of Trade and Industry, December 2001.
  
   
• 113. 

  For example, equivalence problems may affect the activities of dentists or cardiologists.
  
   
• 114. 

  For example, craftspersons, estate agents, or labour consultants.
  
   
• 115. 

  This may concern, for example, rules governing a professional code of good conduct or the protection of a general interest, but also more specific rules, such as an obligation for private security services to ensure that their staff wear a different uniform from that worn in their country of establishment; an obligation for construction companies to pay 15% of the value of the work in question to the tax authorities before the work has been completed, the inability of designers of games of chance to offer their services in some Member States which impose restrictions in respects of games which can be played in casinos; the application to certain activities in candidate countries of strict language requirements, including for the conclusion of contracts.
  
   
• 116. 

  For example, in relation to debt collection, transport and private security services.
  
   
• 117. 

  This relates to requirements (particularly as to weight and dimensions) concerning vehicles used for transporting certain types of goods, such as wine or chemical products, and vehicles which are leased or hired, as well as to restrictions on the use of tourist coaches in certain areas.
  
   
• 118. 

  For example, restrictions on driving on public holidays, obligations regarding specific documents/certificates relating to scheduled and actual driving times for a vehicle (and the translation of documents into the local language), VAT registration even where a vehicle is simply passing through the particular country, statistical declarations (which are a cause of delays at borders), the translation of documents into the local language, restrictions due to monopolies in port services, restrictions on cabotage concerning the islands of some Member States, airport taxes.
  
   
• 119. 

  The Commission presented several propositions to complete the legislative framework in January 2002.
  
   
• 120. 

  Some directives in this area are in the course of being transposed.
  
   
• 121. 

  The Commission launched an initiative at the end of 1999 to reform air traffic control in Europe. The European Council in Barcelona in March 2002 set 2004 as the date for the completion of the Single European Sky.
  
   
• 122. 

  This relates, for example, to obstacles to receiving pay-TV channels broadcast from other Member States, to concluding a mobile telephone contract in another Member State, to benefiting from advantageous transport tariffs or from promotional offers by large-scale distributors which are sometimes restricted to the national territory of a particular country and are inaccessible for potential users from other Member States. Other barriers may affect users of equipment needed for the receipt of services from other Member States, e.g. parabolic dish antennas (the installation of which for individual or communal use may be subject to prior authorisation, monitoring costs, a fee or restrictive internal rules governing the building concerned) or winners of a contest/lottery who have to pay a tax both to the Member State in which they took part in the contest or lottery and in their Member State of origin when repatriating their winnings, and mobile telephone users who cannot receive calls in certain locations owing to the use of scrambling systems (prohibited in the majority of Member States).
  
   
• 123. 

  For example, cases were pointed out where service recipients are subject to additional conditions and guarantees when taking out a subscription with a mobile telephony operator, or are subject to higher charges in other Member States when taking part in a cultural or sporting event (such as a marathon), visiting a museum or tourist site, buying a ferry ticket, taking out an insurance contract, using sports facilities, hiring a car etc. Finally, there are also situations where, conversely, residents of another Member State enjoy preferential treatment, e.g. free parking at an airport.
  
   
• 124. 

  COM(2001)398 final.
  
   
• 125. 

  See the summary by the Commission services of the results of the consultation at europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/policy/developments
  
   
• 126. 

  For example, the impossibility of drawing up a standard contract of employment for an enterprise which is active in all Member States was underscored in the study entitled 'Managing mobility matters - A European perspective' already cited above, section 4.3.1.
  
   
• 127. 

  For example, the regulated professions, private security services, debt recovery services, hotel services and road safety consultancy activities. Difficulties caused by regulations governing prices for tourism services were also identified as a problem by a report prepared for the Commission entitled: 'Yield management in small and medium-sized enterprises in the tourism industry', Arthur Andersen, Frankfurt am Main, OPOCE, 1997.
  
   
• 128. 

  For example, in one Member State an invoice for professional services in the legal field must contain a specific reference to rules governing complaints.
  
   
• 129. 

  Council Directive 2001/115/EC of 20 December 2001 amending Directive 77/388/EEC with a view to simplifying, modernising and harmonising the conditions laid down for invoicing in respect of value added tax. OJ L 015 , 17/01/2002 P. 0024 - 0028
  
   
• 130. 

  For example, in one Member States, banks make the recipient pay a fee even where the transferor has indicated that he wishes to bear all charges. In other cases, banks have refused to credit clients' accounts with amounts corresponding to winnings which the latter have lawfully gained in another Member State on the grounds that the bets concerned were not authorised in their own Member State. See also a report prepared for the Commission entitled: 'Bank charges in Europe', IEIC, April 2000.
  
   
• 131. 

  In the insurance field, supervisory authorities impose different rules on accounting and statistics, which excludes the use of high-performance computerised accounting systems.
  
   
• 132. 

  These obligations are the subject of a study by the Commission in preparation for simplification and modernisation proposals. The study is due to be completed at the beginning of 2003.
  
   
• 133. 

  The time it takes to issue a VAT number ranges from one week to six months, depending on the Member State.
  
   
• 134. 

  For example, where a service enterprise charges management fees to an enterprise established in another Member State for services which it has rendered, according to the classification used for this type of service the Member State of taxation will be the country of establishment either of the provider or of the client, so that there is a risk of double taxation if both of these criteria are applied to the same provision of services.
  
   
• 135. 

  For example, some Member States do not allow periodic VAT declarations to be submitted electronically. As far as summary declarations are concerned, one Member State accepts only hard-copy declarations handed over personally.
  
   
• 136. 

  Payments are generally effected by means of bank transfer. Some Member States stipulate that an account must be held with a local bank.
  
   
• 137. 

  This problem could be addressed by the Commission's proposal aiming to allow cross-border deduction (COM(1998)377), but this has still not been agreed by the Member States in the Council.
  
   
• 138. 

  For example, two persons residing in another Member State returned to their Member State of origin in order to undergo a surgical operation there without having received the authorisation of the competent authorities in their Member State of residence, who refuse to reimburse the costs of the operations.
  
   
• 139. 

  See the analysis developed in this respect in a study prepared for the Commission entitled: 'Implications of recent case law on the co-ordination of healthcare systems', International Association for Mutual Assistance, May 2000, and in the report by the High Level Committee on Health entitled: 'The Internal Market and Health services', 17 December 2001.
  
   
• 140. 

  This term is understood to cover all contracts in the wider sense which may be concluded by a public sector purchaser (whether in the traditional form of a public contract or a works or services concession), by which the latter purchases a service or entrusts a third party with the overall or partial management of a service, for which the third party assumes the associated risks.
  
   
• 141. 

  For example, these may concern contracts awarded on the basis of mutual trust (intuitu personae) to a local partner.
  
   
• 142. 

  For example, a lack of information for tenderers on the criteria according to which their abilities and the quality of their tender will be evaluated and on purchasers' practices regarding price.
  
   
• 143. 

  For example, an execution clause imposing on a company an obligation to employ a certain number people registered on national training programmes may make access more difficult for companies from other Member States which would not be able to employ persons benefiting from similar training in the Member State of their establishment.
  
   
• 144. 

  For example, the health profession, legal professions, auditors, consultants, property registrars, private security services, employment agencies, designers, estate agents, banking and insurance services, stock brokering companies, hauliers.
  
   
• 145. 

  For example, turnover or number of associates covered.
  
   
• 146. 

  See study carried out for the Commission entitled: 'Systems of civil liability of statutory auditors in the context of a Single Market for auditing services in the European Union', Price Waterhouse Coopers, January 2001.
  
   
• 147. 

  In one Member State, for example, all construction sites, including those operated by service providers from other Member States, must belong to an insurance scheme covering a specific guarantee which does not exist in the other Member States.
  
   
• 148. 

  In particular the essential need to take legal advice locally.
  
   
• 149. 

  See Communication from the Commission: 'Report on late payments in commercial transactions', OJ C 216, 17.7.1997, and the Report from the Commission entitled 'Creating an entrepreneurial Europe - The activities of the European Union for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)', COM/2001/0098 final; the latter report states that: "Late payments are the cause of one in four bankruptcies
   
• 150. 

  For example, a toll-free after-sales service number is not accessible outside the country of origin.
  
   
• 151. 

  For example, for the maintenance servicing of a lift, a whole series of administrative formalities have to be completed in relation to the workers posted (data on the workers, working hours, proof of payment of wages, translations, membership of a sickness insurance scheme, site plan and safety register etc.).
  
   
• 152. 

  It was also stated that it was often impossible to obtain any clarification from one's own authorities regarding the application of legislation in the other Member States.
  
   
• 153. 

  See
   
• 154. 

  Commercial habits vary within markets and consumers are rarely a homogeneous group within a country or even within a region, though they can be identified as specific groups, according to, for example, age, level of education or the language they speak.
  
   
• 155. 

  In particular, for instance, the problems deriving from the differing interpretations of the Customs Code by the Member States, and even between the authorities of one and the same country, leading to additional procedures and costs for hauliers and their customers.
  
   
• 156. 

  Judgments of 20 February 2001, Analir, Case C-205/99; of 12 July 2001, Smits and Peerbooms, Case C-157/99; of 15 January 2002, Commission v. Italy, Case C-439/99; of 22 January 2002, Canal Satélite Digital SL, Case C-390/99.
  
   
• 157. 

  See, in particular, the judgment of 3 October 2000, Corsten, Case C-58/98.
  
   
• 158. 

  Final report of the high-level advisory group, chaired by Mr Mandelkern, presented on 13 November 2001.
  
   
• 159. 

  Opinion of the Committee of the Regions already quoted, see in particular, 10, 14, 16 and 27.
  
   
• 160. 

  Judgment of 15 January 2002, Commission v. Italy, Case C-439/99.
  
   
• 161. 

  See also the 'Report of the Business Environment Simplification task force Best', already quoted, page 61.
  
   
• 162. 

  Contained in certain directives on consumer protection; see the Green Paper on 'European Union Consumer Protection', COM (2001) 531 final, paragraph 2.3.
  
   
• 163. 

  Judgment of 1 December 1998, Ambry, Case C-410/96.
  
   
• 164. 

  These difficulties are explained in the Commission Communication 'Freedom to provide services and the general good in the insurance sector', C(1999)5046.
  
   
• 165. 

  See the 'Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - A Strategy to Improve the Operation of the VAT System Within the Context of the Internal Market', COM(2000)348 final.
  
   
• 166. 

  See the analysis of the Chamber of Commerce of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg 'Les autorisations de transport et de négoce de déchets en Saar-Lor-Lux', T. Theves.
  
   
• 167. 

  For example in the context of the implementation of Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services (OJ L 18 of 21.1.1997, page 1), in particular in the case of postings of very short duration.
  
   
• 168. 

  In a series of judgments of principle (of 28 April 1998, Kohll, C-158/96, of 12 July 2001, Smits and Peerbooms, C-157/99, of the same day, Vanbraekel, C-368/98) the Court ensured, regardless of Regulation 1408/71 (already cited), the right of patients to obtain reimbursement of the cost of health services provided in another Member State. In the field of posting of workers, the Court was led, on the basis of application of Article 49 EC, to reiterate the need to assess to what extent the application of a national rule imposing a minimum wage on a service undertaking from another Member State employing cross-border workers is necessary and proportionate; judgments of 15 March 2001, Mazzoleni, Case C-165/98 ; see also judgments of 25 October 2001, Finalarte, Case C-49/98 and of 24 January 2002, Portugaia Construções, Case C-164/99.
  
   
• 169. 

  Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of the Council of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving within the Community, already cited.
  
   
• 170. 

  See the study carried out for the Commission 'Implications of recent case on the co-ordination of health care systems', already cited.
  
   
• 171. 

  See Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament on European contract law, COM (2001) 398 final, 11.7.2001, p11 and 12.
  
   
• 172. 

  See the summary by the Commission services of the results of the consultation on europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/policy/developments
  
   
• 173. 

  For example, the concept of 'damages' in the Package travel Directive, (which contains no definition of this term), has been interpreted by the Court of Justice in the light of this directive only, whereas, the Advocate General suggested interpreting it by taking into account other Community Acts.
  
   
• 174. 

  The Court has already had to pronounce on collective rules. The first judgment dates from 1974 (Walrave, Case 36-74, point 18), but the Court has been called upon to apply this case law in several cases in recent years: judgments of 15 December 1995, Bosman, Case C-415/93, point 83, and of 11 April 2000, Deliège, Case C-51/96 and C-191/97, point 47, including a regulation of a professional association of lawyers (judgment of 19 February 2002, Wouters, Case C-309/99).
  
   
• 175. 

  Although this kind of conduct must be examined in the light of the rules of competition, the Court has already opened up the possibility of examining the compatibility of such conduct with the freedoms of the internal market; judgment of 8 June 2000, Angonese, Case C-281/98, on Article 39 EC; see also the judgment of 13 December 1984, Haug-Adrion, Case C-251/83 on the compatibility with Article 59 of the EC Treaty of contractual clauses laid down in the general conditions of an insurance contract.
  
   
• 176. 

  'A Member State may not make the provision of services in its territory subject to compliance with all the conditions required for establishment and thereby deprive of all practical effectiveness the provisions of the Treaty whose object is, precisely, to guarantee the freedom to provide services', judgment of 25 July 1991, Säger, Case C-76/90, point 13.
  
   
• 177. 

  Pursuant to Directive 98/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 July 1998 amending Directive 98/34/EC laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations, OJ L 217 of 5.8.1998, page 18.
  
   
• 178. 

  The consultation showed that this reversal of roles also appears in the application of the directives on insurance: whereas these provide the possibility, in certain cases, for the host Member State to apply its rules only when they are necessary for reasons of the general good, some Member States notify to the authorities of the country of origin an entire general list of rules which must be systematically complied with by a provider established on the territory of the latter. See the Communication 'Freedom to provide services and the general good in the insurance sector' already cited.
  
   
• 179. 

  'Services Sector in Flash Eurobarometer 106', Flash Eurobarometer 106 (Special Targets), survey to monitor the single market, September 2001, conducted on behalf of the European Commission, attached to Scoreboard No 9, 19.11.2001, europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/update
  
   
• 180. 

  The percentage being highest in France (60%) and lowest in Ireland (23%).
  
   
• 181. 

  Flash Eurobarometer 106 already cited.
  
   
• 182. 

  The monitoring is sometimes limited to informing the departments of the administration likely to be concerned.
  
   
• 183. 

  Portugaia Construções judgment already cited.
  
   
• 184. 

  This share is even higher if the number of employees in the manufacturing-industry engaged in services activities is taken into account. For example, a study from the Confederation of Swedish Enterprises indicates that estimates go up to 85% of persons employed. 'Svensk Internationell Tjänstehandel - nuläge och möjligheter', Rapport inom projektet Internationaliseringen av Svenskt Tjänsteföretagande, Svenskt Näringsliv, O. Erixon, 2001. Another study carried out for the European Commission, indicates that this share is also increasing in privatised utilities (e.g. electricity companies) which are shifting from traditional industrial activities to being flexible service-oriented companies. 'The Effects of the Liberalisation of the Electricity and Gas Sectors on Employment', ECOTEC research and consulting, 2000.
  
   
• 185. 

  The proportion of services in the US economy is still higher, accounting for about 74% GDP, although the EU is catching up. See, for instance: Commission report of 2002 on competitiveness (SEC (2002) 528 of 21 May 2002); Communication from the Commission on Productivity: The Key to Competitiveness of European Economies and Enterprises (COM (2002) 262 final, 21 May 2002); 'Dienstleistungsreport 2000', Preussag AG, together with the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft, Köln, 2000, 'Croissance et emploi dans le secteur des services, une analyse comparative', Bureau Fédéral du Plan Belgique, working paper 6-00, 2000.
  
   
• 186. 

  'The rise of the knowledge-based society will shift employment demand towards higher skill levels'. Quote from 'Innovation in the Service Sector - Selected Facts and Some Policy Conclusions', Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, G. Licht, G. Ebling, N. Janz, H. Niggemann, 1999, p. 5.
  
   
• 187. 

  Source: 'EU international transactions', Eurostat edition 2001.
  
   
• 188. 

  Source: 'EU Foreign Direct Investment', Eurostat 2000.
  
   
• 189. 

  See 'Job Revolution, Wie wir neue Arbeitsplätze gewinnen können', P. Hartz, 2001 and 'Grundlagen der Automobilwirtschaft', W. Diez, 2001
  
   
• 190. 

  For example, consumer electronics companies are offering an increasing range of video-game software or are investing in the entertainment (notably film) industries.
  
   
• 191. 

  Further examples are manufacturers of health care products who are increasingly offering consulting services to hospitals, producers of foodstuffs providing consulting on food safety and telecommunications operators who are generating considerable revenue from offering telephone assistance to software users.
  
   
• 192. 

  For example, an OECD report concluded that the distinction between manufacturers and service providers is no longer feasible. Likewise a Danish study noted that 31% of those Danish companies interviewed and officially listed as manufacturers considered themselves to be service providers. 'The service economy', OECD, Science Technology Industry Forum, Paris, 2000; 'Svensk Internationell Tjänstehandel - nuläge och möjligheter', op cit.
  
   
• 193. 

  See 'Dienstleistungsreport 2000' op cit; 'Marktpotentiale für Unternehmensbezogene Dienstleistungen im Globalen Wettbewerb', Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, 1998.
  
   
• 194. 

  See "Stratégies tertiaires des exportateurs industriels. Économies et sociéties. Les services de l'an 2000", Tome XXXIII N°5, mai 1999: p. 17-43; 'Trading Services in the Global Economy', L. Rubalcaba-Bermejo, J. Bryson, 2002.
  
   
• 195. 

  'S-Business: Defining the services industry', Association for Services Management, S.W. Brown, B.A van Bennekom, K. Goffin, J.A. Alexander, 2001, p.4.
  
   
• 196. 

  See "Innovation and Productivity in Services: State of the Art, OECD, D. Pilat, 2001; 'The Service Sector in the UK and France: Addressing Barriers to the Growth of Output and Employment' op cit.
  
   
• 197. 

  Such as an ageing population and higher participation of women in the labour force.
  
   
• 198. 

  See for example a report carried out for the European Commission 'Services for Individuals and Households in the European Union', Institute for Employment and Research, 2001.
  
   
• 199. 

  For example, architects and engineers might face problems concerning professional qualifications; construction companies concerning posting of their workers; insurance companies concerning different contract and taxation legislation.
  
   
• 200. 

  See the description of barriers in part 1. The temporary employment agency may not be able to provide services without being established in the countries concerned, the sales promotion agency may not be familiar with the detailed legal requirements for sales promotions, the road haulage firm may have difficulties using his vehicles, the accountant's firm may not have the required legal form etc.
  
   
• 201. 

  COM(2002)276 final
  
   
• 202. 

  COM(2002)276 final
  
   
• 203. 

  It should be noted that the utility of such a horizontal and dynamic evaluation is also recognised by the OECD: see 'Quantification of Costs to National Welfare from Barriers to Services Trade, a literature overview' OECD 2001
  
   
• 204. 

  Service exports from EU countries increased by 7.3% between 1990 and 1999 although this was not as rapid as the increase from the US and especially China and Japan. Since 1990 Western Europe has lost some 8.6 percentage points of its world market share. See for example recent Swedish and Danish studies: 'Svensk Internationell Tjänstehandel - nuläge och möjligheter', op cit and "Internationalisering af Service - Potentialer og Barriere, Erhvervsministeriet, 2001.
  
   
• 205. 

  See 'SMEs in Europe', Observatory of European SMEs, European Communities, No2 2002; 'Service Internationalisation - Characteristics, Potentials and Barriers' op cit.
  
   
• 206. 

  A German study on technical services highlights that the increase in cross-border trade of services is closely related to the emergence of multinational firms, which choose those service providers with the best price/quality, offer, independent of nationality."Marktzugangsregelungen/Berufszugangsregelungen für Technische Dienstleistungen und deren Auswirkungen auf die Internationale Wettbewerbsfähigkeit", Institut für Wirtschaftspolitik an der Universität zu Köln, M. Fredebeul-Krein, A. Schürfeld, Oktober 1998. See also 'Trading Services in the Global Economy', op cit.
  
   
• 207. 

  See for example 'Employment in Europe 2001: Recent Trends and Prospects', DG Employment and Social Affairs, European Communities, 2001
  
   
• 208. 

  According to the British Government, the increasing range of services that can be provided at a distance is also bringing to light new barriers which potentially limit trade and competition in the EU. See "Realising Europe's Potential, Economic Reform in Europe", HM Treasury, 2002.
  
   
• 209. 

  An example of the lost potential can be found in a survey amongst business services providers that was conducted on behalf of the European Commission, the majority of the respondents replied that they would be likely to increase their sales of business services in other EU Member States, if regulatory barriers were removed. 'Barriers to Trade in Business Services'; op cit.
  
   
• 210. 

  Examples were provided in the context of the consultation for the Services Strategy by service providers and law firms advising them.
  
   
• 211. 

  For example, a German study indicates that external costs of legislation hit SMEs disproportionately. 'Externe Kosten von Rechtsvorschriften, Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Ökonomischen Gesetzesanalyse, Institut für Weltwirtschaft an der Universität Kiel, H. Dicke, H. Hartung, 1986. See also 'Regulation and Small Firms", progress report from the Better Regulation Task Force, 1999.
  
   
• 212. 

  This is common to all service sectors. See 'Major Trends and Issues', OECD, M. Edwards, M.Croker, 2002.
  
   
• 213. 

  The averages are based on information in 13 Member States. Germany and Greece are excluded because relevant data was not available. 'Distributive Trade Statistics: Retail Trade in Europe', Statistics in Focus: Industry, Trade and Services., Eurostat, J. Hubertus, Theme 4-40, 2001.
  
   
• 214. 

  For certain product lines there are eight fashion seasons per year which mean that the remaining stocks for each line will need to be cleared through sales.
  
   
• 215. 

  It is important to note that even the Cecchini report (op cit) took a 'static' view of the EU economy. To quote the HM Treasury paper "Realising Europe's Potential: Economic Reform in Europe" op cit p.16: "Cecchini himself was aware of this limitation, recognising that dynamic, non-price factors stemming from the removal of trade barriers and accompanying reforms, would, over the longer term, have far greater consequences than any static step change for EU productivity, employment, growth, and economic and social stability."
  
   
• 216. 

  The fact that innovation is expected to be largest in those sectors which are most open to international competition has been acknowledged in: 'Innovation in the Service Sector - Selected Facts and Some Policy Conclusions', op cit, p. 5.
  
   
• 217. 

  For example, according to the study on Trading Services in the Global Economy op cit international growth in Europe by mergers and acquisitions has been increasing more rapidly than growth by greenfield foreign direct investment. Regarding the retail sector, it was stated at a seminar that: '...acquisitions have become the main means of growth to gain access to countries with restrictive legislation - in particular, France, Italy and Germany.' Quote from E. Colla 'Commerce 99 - Proceedings of the Seminar on Distributive Trades in Europe', Eurostat, Brussels, 22 -23 November 1999.
  
   
• 218. 

  At the seminar on Distributive Trades in Europe op cit, it was stated that 'The globalisation of companies also encourages concentration at national level. Wal-Mart and Promodes-Carrefour are examples: the acquisitions of Wal-Mart in Europe in 1998-1999 triggered a competitive reaction, of which the merger between the two French giants only constitutes the most impressive event'.
  
   
• 219. 

  See also 'Cross-border acquisitions and Greenfield entry', the Research Institute of Industrial Economics, P-J. Norbäck, L. Persson, Working paper No 570, 2002.
  
   
• 220. 

  "Realising Europe's Potential, Economic Reform in Europe" op cit.
  
   
• 221. 

  See "Innovation in Services and the Knowledge Economy; the Interface between Policy Makers and Enterprise: a Business Perspective", Irish Coalition of services industries, 2002 and 'Major trends and issues' op cit.
  
   
• 222. 

  The dissuasive effects of compliance costs should not be underestimated and experience of regulation at national level also deters companies from entering new markets. For example, a recent UK report notes that in order to comply with national provisions small owner-managers spend three to five working days per month dealing with government administration and that this has increased by 35% over the past four years. This rise is partly due to complexity of regulation resulting from increasing service differentiation. 'Local shops: a Progress Report on Small Firms Regulation' Better Regulation Taskforce (UK), July 2001.
  
   
• 223. 

  See for example, 'The Services Sector in the UK and France: Addressing Barriers to the Growth of Output and Employment' op cit.
  
   
• 224. 

  At the seminar on Distributive Trades in Europe (op cit) it was said that "The commercial fabric of these countries
   
• 225. 

  For example, in guidelines on the application a rule relating to civil jurisdiction, a national authority explicitly advises e-commerce companies not to sell to consumers in other EU Member States in order to avoid the risk of being sued for breach of contract in all these countries.
  
   
• 226. 

  COM(2001)736 of 7 December 2001
  
   
• 227. 

  The European Round Table on Financial Services has produced a report on 'The benefits of a working European retail market for Financial Services' F. Heinemann, M. Jopp 2002. It estimates that the potential cost savings could amount to EUR5bn and that the benefits could result in increased economic growth of between 0.5 and 0.7%. The report identifies the divergence between national rules in the area of consumer protection as a significant obstacle which 'makes a pan-European marketing strategy and product standardisation impossible'. Moreover, a Eurobarometer study carried out for the Commission (FLASH BE 117 'consumer study', January 2002) has shown that consumers have less confidence in purchases made in a Member State other than their own. 32% of European consumers feel well protected in a dispute with a company established in another Member State, compared with 56 % o, the case of a dispute with a domestic company.
  
   
• 228. 

  Analysed above in Part III, A.
  
   
• 229. 

  'Barriers to Trade in Business Services', already cited, page ii.
  
   
• 230. 

  Study attached to Single Market Scoreboard No 3, 3.11.1998. europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/update
  
   
• 231. 

  'a rigorous infringement policy vis-à-vis Member States which take measures incompatible with Articles 43 and 49 of the Treaty', European Parliament Resolution on the Commission Communication: 'An Internal Market Strategy for Services', already cited, 27.
  
   
• 232. 

  The opinion states that 'The Commission should perform in a more determined and effective way its role as guardian of the Treaty, particularly by speeding up the procedures for dealing with breaches of the principles of free movement of services and freedom of establishment, and by examining carefully the question of the proportionality of the national measures underlying these restrictions. At a time when an exceptional effort is required of the applicant countries in order to adopt the entire Community acquis, the Member States should feel obliged to set a good example', Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the Commission Communication: 'An Internal Market Strategy for Services', already cited, 7.5.
  
   
• 233. 

  This strategy was also noted in the field of public contracts; see 'Selling to the public sector in Europe. A practical guide for small and medium-sized companies'. OPOCE, 2000, page 17.
  
   
• 234. 

  Corsten judgment already cited; this case concerned a German architect who had entrust a Dutch undertaking with floor tiling work on a building in Germany. As the Dutch undertaking was not entered in the register of trades in Germany, the German administration of the labour inspectorate imposed a fine for infringement of the German legislation on combating clandestine working. Such behaviour was challenged by the Court in the light of the principle of the free provision of services.
  
   
• 235. 

  In this context, a number of contributions from the building sector which stress the multiplication of labour inspectorate checks when the site is occupied by providers established in other Member States.
  
   
• 236. 

  Commission Communication 'New European Labour Markets, Open to All, with Access for All', COM (2001)116 final of 28.02.2001 'The Internal Market in services is still fragmented. Yet it accounts for two-thirds of total employment, and for all new employment growth. Since, with technological advances, many services can now be provided at a distance, this fragmentation is causing distortions and may, indirectly, encourage movements of jobs outside the Union, or the development of irregular work within.'
  
   
• 237. 

  See the consultation in progress on a proposal for a framework directive on commercial practice; Commission Communication on the follow up to the Green Paper on consumer protection COM(2002)289.
  
   
• 238. 

  Op cit.
  
   
• 239. 

  Germany was excluded because of complications arising from rules relating to market research, but the Commission services gathered comparable information through a separate exercise.
  
   
• 240. 

  Presidency conclusions, Lisbon European Council, 24.3.2000, 17. More recently, the ECOFIN Council, in its recommendation 10093/02 of 21 June 2002 concerning the Broad Guidelines of the Economic Policy of the Member States and the Community, considered that it was necessary to re-launch structural reform, which should include creating 'an effectively functioning Internal Market in services by the removal of barriers to cross-border trade and market entry'.
  
   
• 241. 

  2412th meeting of the Council (Internal Market/Consumer Protection/ Tourism), Brussels 1 March 2002, document 6496/02 MI 35.
  
   
• 242. 

  Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament, An Internal Market Strategy for Services, COM (2000) 888 final, 29.12.2000.
  
   
• 243. 

  It should be noted that in the context of the e-Europe 2005 action plan the Commission, in co-operation with the Member States, will re-examine applicable legislation in order to identify, and, as the case may be, to remove those problems which prevent business from taking up e-business and consumers from benefiting from the Internal Market. This examination will in particular consider how to ensure that the provision of goods and services off-line can, as with services provided on-line, benefit from a true internal market. An e-summit to be organised in 2003 will mark the launch of this examination involving all interested parties, and will provide high-level representatives of economic operators the opportunity to describe the difficulties encountered in the context of e-business.
  
   
• 244. 

  European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication 'An Internal Market Strategy for Services', A5-0310/2001, 4.10.2001
  
   
• 245. 

  Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the Communication from the Commission 'An Internal Market Strategy for Services' (Additional Opinion) CES 1472/2001, INT/105, 28.11.2001
  
   
• 246. 

  Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the Communication from the Commission 'An Internal Market Strategy for Services', 134/2001 fin, 27.06.2001
  
   
• 247. 

  Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, 2002 Review of the Internal Market Strategy: Delivering the promise, COM (2002) 171 final, 11.4.2002.
  
   
• 248. 

  Consumer policy strategy COM (2002) 208. See also the Communication on the follow up to the Green Paper on consumer protection COM (2002) 289 and notably the proposal currently under consultation on a framework directive on commercial practices.
  
   
• 249. 

  COM(2001)531 final.
  
   
• 250. 

  Following the request of the Council and the European Parliament, the Commission will present these initiatives by the end of 2002.
  
   
• 251. 

  Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament on European Contract Law COM(2002) 398 final, 11 July 2001.
  
   
• 252. 

  OJ L 239, 22 September 2000
  
   
• 253. 

  The free movement of persons without controls at borders between Member States benefits EU citizens and members of their family, but it also allows foreigners holding a residence permit from a Member State to circulate freely without a visa on the territory of Member States for up to 3 months (article 21 of the Convention applying the Schengen agreement of 14 June 1985, signed at Schengen on 19 June 1990). However, this legal principle does not allow service providers who are third country nationals to supply their service in a Member States other than one in which they are established.
  
   
• 254. 

  Programmes généraux pour la suppression des restrictions à la liberté d'établissement et à la libre prestation des services, OJ C 2, 15.1.1962.
  
   
• 255. 

  Completing the Internal Market : White Paper from the Commission to the European Council (Milan, 28-29 June 1985), COM (85) 310, 14.6.1985.
  
   
• 256. 

  'The European Challenge, 1992: The Benefits of a Single Market', Paolo Cecchini, Wildwood House, for the European Commission, 1988.
  
   
• 257. 

  These 'barrier effects' and the fact that they largely replace the technical, physical and tax barriers referred to in the 1985 White Paper on the completion of the Internal Market, already cited above, explains the use of the term 'legal barriers'.
  
   
• 258. 

  The inventory also includes difficulties identified in candidate countries. It should be borne in mind that very many of the difficulties cited in Member States are also encountered in candidate countries.
  
   
• 259. 

  See in particular a study entitled 'Service internationalisation characteristics, Potential, Barriers', A. Henten, T. Vad, CRIC workshop, Manchester 1-3.10.2001, section 3, which stresses that the services sector is more dependent than manufacturing on cross-border establishment.
  
   
• 260. 

  For example, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products.
  
   
• 261. 

  For example, gambling activities or the distribution of pharmaceutical products. See also a OECD study entitled 'Regulatory reform in road freight and retail distribution', Economic Department working papers No 255, 10.08.2000, section 39 et seq., and a study carried out for the Commission entitled 'Barriers to Trade in Business Services', Centre for Strategy and Evaluation Services, January 2001, page 15.
  
   
• 262. 

  For example, national regulations stipulating there may be only one provider of chimney-sweeping services per district or per commune.
  
   
• 263. 

  For retail services, for example.
  
   
• 264. 

  For example, in one Member State medical laboratories may only analyse specimens collected at least 60 km away, while in another the mimimum distance between opticians is fixed at 350 metres, and in another shopping centres must be in city-centre locations, which prevents the establishment of new entrants.
  
   
• 265. 

  For example, private security services. Concerning the difficulties encountered in connection with services of this type, see a study conducted by CoESS/UNI-Europa and financed by the Commission entitled 'A comparative overview of legislation concerning the private security industry in the European Union'. ECOTEC, May 2002. In the context of the social dialogue, the European social partners in the private security sector (the CoESS for the employers and UNI-Europa for the unions) signed on 13 December 2001 a joint declaration on European harmonisation of legislation governing the private security sector.
  
   
• 266. 

  For example, engineering enterprises, aero-clubs and NGOs.
  
   
• 267. 

  For example, chartered surveyors.
  
   
• 268. 

  One such requirement may be that an applicant for a telecommunications service licence must be resident in the particular country (even before he or she has obtained the licence).
  
   
• 269. 

  For example, financial services, regulated professions, craftspersons, private security services, certification bodies, drinking water testing laboratories, trade fair organisers, telecommunications services providers, employment agencies and performers' agents, transport and processing of waste.
  
   
• 270. 

  For employment agencies or private security services, for example.
  
   
• 271. 

  In one contribution it was even stated that one had to be a 'collector of licences' in order to set up a bakery business in one particular country, as the requisite authorisations varied depending on the types of products and activities of one and the same bakery. Given these difficulties, the operator in question abandoned the plan of becoming established. The multiplicity and duplication of authorisations had also been identified as a problem in the 'Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on concerted action with the Member States in the field of enterprise policy' COM (1999) 569 final, section 2.1.1.
  
   
• 272. 

  See, for example, a study entitled 'Tackling the impact of increasing regulation - A case study of hotels and restaurants'. Better Regulation Task force (UK), June 2000.
  
   
• 273. 

  Those applicable to distribution services, for example.
  
   
• 274. 

  In one Member State, for example, this relates to a genuine need on the part of consumers with regard to existing shops; in another, the criterion is that there must be no negative impact on existing town-centre shops; and in another the granting of a licence is subject to a condition relating to the need for a performer's agent's activity 'in terms for the demand for the placement of performance artists'.
  
   
• 275. 

  For example, the difficulties encountered in opening retail outlets because of authorisation or registration requirements and the associated administrative formalities were identified in the OECD study cited above (section 39 et seq.) as being one of the chief restrictions on market access in the distributive trades sector. An Anglo-French study on the services sector in the United Kingdom and France underscores the negative effects on employment at the local level which are caused by licensing and numerus clausus systems applicable to some activities: 'The service sector in the UK and France. Addressing barriers to the Growth of Output and Employment. An Anglo-French Report.', Department of Trade and Industry and Ministère de l'économie, des finances et de l'industrie (Ministry of Economic Affairs, Finance and Industry), 2000, page 89.
  
   
• 276. 

  A business survey attached as an annex to the November 2000 Internal Market Scoreboard shows that 91% of the companies interviewed attached the highest priority to a simplification of administrative procedures europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/update See also 'Report on the implementation of the European Charter for small enterprises', COM (2002) 68 final, which stresses in particular that 'the total number of procedures for starting a business could be an important target for simplification'(section 4: Conclusions); 'Report of the Business Environment Simplification Task Force- Best' volume 1, OPOCE 1998 ; "Etude comparative internationale des dispositions légales et administratives nécessaires pour la formation des PME dans six pays de l'Union européenne" (comparative international study of the legal and administrative provisions governing the creation of SMEs in six countries of the European Union, Logotech, European Innovation Monitoring System, EIMS Publication No 27, March 1996.
  
   
• 277. 

  For example, in numerous Member States lawyers are not allowed to enter into partnerships with non-lawyers, e.g. accountants, tax consultants or patent agents. Other forms of restrictions may also exist. In one Member State, for example, only tax advisers, tax consultants or tax agents may be shareholders or executives of companies providing tax consultancy services, Concerning the rules applicable in the United Kingdom, see for example a report entitled 'Competition in professions', Office of Fair Trading, March 2001, section 30.
  
   
• 278. 

  See, for example, studies on cases concerning incompatibilities between the activity of an auditor and that of an accountant in the above-cited survey carried out for the Commission entitled 'Barriers to Trade in Business Services', appendices, case studies 6. See also the judgement of 9 February 2002 Wouters C-309/99, on the prohibition of multi-disciplinary partnerships between members of the Bar and accountants.
  
   
• 279. 

  In one Member State, for example, such a requirement applies to employment agencies.
  
   
• 280. 

  For example, in one Member State real estate services and insurance activities.
  
   
• 281. 

  In one Member State, for example, trade fair organisers must be non-profit-making.
  
   
• 282. 

  Other activities are also affected by this type of problem, e.g. auditors.
  
   
• 283. 

  Restrictions may also include a maximum investment, as in the media sector, or an obligation to find other shareholders or co-investors for certain areas of activity. It should be noted that the Anglo-French report cited above also identified (page 36) minimum-capital requirements as being one of the main obstacles to service activities.
  
   
• 284. 

  In one Member State, for example, employment agencies must have at least 12 employees per 100 contracts concluded in the previous year. In other Member States, companies providing private security services must employ a minimum number of staff depending on the activities and territory covered.
  
   
• 285. 

  It should be noted that, quite apart from problems concerning the recognition of professional qualifications, differences in rules governing the professional training of employees may cause certain difficulties, as in the case of companies providing private-security services, which are subject to specific requirements in some Member States.
  
   
• 286. 

  For example, engineers and consulting engineers, tax advisers, estate agents, surveyors, landscape architects, managing agents of blocks of flats, consultants, craftspersons.
  
   
• 287. 

  For example, one Member State has established a specific vocational title for services consisting of drafting labour law documents which does not exist in any other Member State and which is subject to authorisation and an obligation to be entered in a national registry specific to this new profession.
  
   
• 288. 

  See the already cited 'Report of the Business Environment Simplification Task Force', page 65, which states that, in some fields, the aptitude-test requirement 'has tended to become the rule rather than the exception'.
  
   
• 289. 

  For example, a carpentry diploma obtained in one Member State does not authorise the holder to exercise the profession of a 'carpenter/joiner' in another.
  
   
• 290. 

  This type of restrictive effect was also identified in the OECD study already cited, sections 49-51.
  
   
• 291. 

  For example, taxation in respect of GSM transmission masts, or the setting of electromagnetic emission thresholds.
  
   
• 292. 

  See the study 'Taxation of companies in the Internal Market' SEC(2001)1681, which, inter alia, examines in detail the principal fiscal provisions likely to constrain cross-border economic activity in the Internal Market. On the basis of this analysis the Commission presented a strategy to remove such obstacles. Communication from the Commission: 'Towards an Internal Market without tax obstacles - a strategy for providing companies with a consolidated corporate tax base for their EU-wide activities' (COM(2001)582 final).
  
   
• 293. 

  While human resources are one of the most important inputs for the provision of services, contributions also showed the cross-border deployment and posting of staff continue to cause service providers major difficulties which are hardly encountered at all by manufacturers of goods. Concerning the low level of worker mobility in border areas, see a study carried out for the Commission entitled 'Scientific Report on the Mobility of Cross-border Workers within the EEA', MKW Wirtschaftsforschung GmbH, November 2001, section 1.3.
  
   
• 294. 

  Concerning this, see the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Council and the Committee of the Regions - Commission' Action Plan for skills and mobility, COM (2002) 72 of 13 February 2002.
  
   
• 295. 

  Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services (OJ L 18, 21 January 1997 p1). This Directive aims to guarantee observance of the fundamental freedoms of the Treaty while at the same time protecting workers. The Directive also obliges Member States to establish co-operation between national administrations and to designate liaison offices.
  
   
• 296. 

  These formalities have to be completed for each individual site. A service provider who regularly posts personnel for short periods cannot obtain an authorisation valid, for example, for one year. In one Member State, the obligation to make a prior declaration has to be met, before work on each individual site commences, for each temporary worker provided by an employment agency established in another Member State.
  
   
• 297. 

  For example, the costs of translating certain employment documents into the language of the host country.
  
   
• 298. 

  For example, the obligation to apply for a residence permit.
  
   
• 299. 

  For example, the obligation to draw up certain social and employment documents and make them available for the inspection authorities, or to keep such documents on file with a social representative in the host country for a certain period of time, and to translate these documents in their entirety into the language of the host country.
  
   
• 300. 

  Whether they are nationals of a Member State or a non-EU country.
  
   
• 301. 

  As regards wages in particular several contributions show that restrictions result from disparities in the methods of calculating wages. Some contributions, for example, highlight difficulties linked to a failure by the host country to take account of all the components making up remuneration in the country of establishment (e.g. 13th or 14th month's salary) which may mean that remuneration is higher than that imposed by law in the host country.
  
   
• 302. 

  For example, the obligation to contribute to a third party institution (such as a paid leave fund) despite the fact that the posted workers already enjoy a comparable benefit by virtue of national provisions guaranteeing holiday pay. In one such instance, payment for the contract was withheld until the matter had gone through the courts.
  
   
• 303. 

  See "Artisanat, Petites entreprises et zones frontalières - Analyse de cas particuliers d'entreprises travaillant en pays limitrophes (seconde action expérimentale)" (The crafts sector, small enterprises and border areas - Analyses of specific cases of enterprises working in neighbouring countries
   
• 304. 

  In one Member State, for example, the minimum fine is EUR 1,000, including for simple material errors, and can range up to EUR 26,000.
  
   
• 305. 

  These range from an obligation to obtain a work permit in the host country, the granting of which depends on an assessment of the labour market there, to a 'work visa' or residence permit, without which no posting can take place.
  
   
• 306. 

  Concerning this, see in particular a study entitled 'Managing mobility matters - a European perspective', PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2002, section 2.5, as well as the 'Report of the High Level Panel on free movement of persons' chaired by Mrs Simone Veil and presented to the Commission on 18 September 1997, "(the Veil Report), chapter 6.
  
   
• 307. 

  Moreover, the fact that third-country nationals who are insured in one Member State are not, in principle, covered by the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of the Council of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving within the Community, is also liable to make it more difficult and costly to post them to another Member State. A proposal from the Commission seeking to extend the field of application of regulation 1408/71 to third country nationals was agreed by Ministers at the Council of 3 June 2002.
  
   
• 308. 

  For example, in order to make up skills shortages, cope with a heavy workload, particularly on account of seasonal factors, or manage their resources with a degree of flexibility.
  
   
• 309. 

  The conditions and procedures for authorisation, the length of time they take, as well as the associated guarantees and deposits, can likewise exacerbate the restrictive effects of these authorisation rules. The granting of an authorisation may be linked to the quality or the structure of the service provider or to the agency having a minimum capital stock. It may also be conditional on guarantees or securities being deposited or on the payment of duties. In one Member State, a user enterprise that had to cope with a temporary rise in its workload was unable to use an agency established in a Member State on account of the time it would have taken for the requisite licence to be granted (four months). Moreover, the obligation imposed in some Member States to first consult trade union organisations, even in urgent cases, is also liable to slow down the procedure appreciably.
  
   
• 310. 

  An agency may be required to have a local representative, or to be 'active' in several regions of one and the same Member State.
  
   
• 311. 

  Particular mention was made of 'niche' sectors (such as high-tech activities and civil aviation), but also the building and construction sectors, as well as the tourism, hotels and health sectors.
  
   
• 312. 

  For example, an air transport company was unable to use the services of an employment agency specialising in providing airline transport pilots because the agency in question was not established in the same Member State as the air transport company.
  
   
• 313. 

  Such prohibitions affect several sectors (construction, the merchant navy, the public sector, removals and low-skill activities) but may also be limited by particular considerations (increased workload at an enterprise, performance of specific and exceptional tasks, replacement of seasonal employees or activities, launching of a new activity).
  
   
• 314. 

  This is compounded by tax and social provisions specific to temporary employment which have the effect of making staff provided by an employment agency established in another Member State more expensive. For example, the user enterprise may be subject to double taxation from the first day of providing its service or to higher social security contributions. In some Member States, it may also be required to pay end-of-contract compensation.
  
   
• 315. 

  It should be noted that the difficulties relating to nationality, residence and professional-qualification requirements which were raised in the section concerning the establishment of service providers are likewise a restriction on worker mobility.
  
   
• 316. 

  Particularly in the information-technology, communications, construction, health and tourism sectors.
  
   
• 317. 

  Disparities concerning taxation (level and structure of taxes) were cited in several contributions as being a major obstacle to the mobility of labour, as migrant and cross-border workers are often more heavily taxed in spite of bilateral agreements on double taxation (see the Veil Report as well as the study entitled 'Managing mobility matters - a European perspective' both op cit.).
  
   
• 318. 

  Disparities relating in particular to income tax and pension rights were identified in the above-cited studies entitled 'Barriers to trade in Business services' (section 4) and 'Managing mobility matters - a European perspective', as having a negative impact on an operator's ability to exercise its activities in several Member States and, in particular, to recruit personnel locally in another Member State.
  
   
• 319. 

  For example, an enterprise that wishes to recruit qualified personnel will not always be able to inform candidates of the exact amount of taxes and contributions which they will have to pay, even though matters have been simplified by the introduction of the euro.
  
   
• 320. 

  Contributions highlighted, above all, problems encountered in the application of the Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 relating to the co-ordination of social security schemes (difficulties in determining the applicable scheme, in particular to border workers, non-application of the provisions of the regulation to benefits under collective agreements, e.g. in the case of occupational pensions. Moreover, some problems of double deduction of contributions have occurred in spite of the implementation of forms E101 and E128 used in case of a posting. The Commission has made a proposal to simplify this regulation.
  
   
• 321. 

  The difficulties concerning the transferability of supplementary pension rights acquired by migrant workers are highlighted in particular by the above-cited Commission Action Plan on Skills and Mobility.
  
   
• 322. 

  For example, equipment used by analysis laboratories, trade-fair exhibitors, certifying veterinary officers, opticians, chiropodists and construction enterprises (who have to cope with divergent legislation regarding construction equipment and undergo multiple inspections of hired cranes, with serious consequences in terms of additional costs and delays). Difficulties may also include the requirement for SMS companies to connect up with each operator involved in the cross-border transmission of messages.
  
   
• 323. 

  For example, requiring a chiropodist who is established in another Member State to have non-transportable equipment and a permanent infrastructure in the country of service provision is tantamount to imposing an establishment requirement in order for services to be provided.
  
   
• 324. 

  A wide range of sectors (the regulated professions, distribution, telecommunications, press, publishing, cinema and financial services) are affected by bans or limitations on the use of commercial communications.
  
   
• 325. 

  For example, the advertising of medicines available without a medical prescription may require prior authorisation, and the advertising of fruit and vegetable prices outside the point of sale may be subject to the existence of a multi-sector agreement. See OECD study entitled 'Assessing barriers to trade in services: retail trade services', 2 October 2000.
  
   
• 326. 

  For example, some Member States stipulate that prior approval is required for promotional lotteries and games.
  
   
• 327. 

  For example, for mobile poster campaigns, particularly for the deployment of vehicles carrying commercial messages for each district of a city.
  
   
• 328. 

  In some Member States, for example, organisers of a promotional lottery or game have to make a declaration to the public authorities. In other Member States, any advertising on the part of a teaching establishment has to be notified in advance to the national ministry of education.
  
   
• 329. 

  For example, television advertising may be completely prohibited for certain sectors, as is the case in one particular Member State in respect of the distribution, press, publishing and cinema sectors.
  
   
• 330. 

  Some communication bans are often designed to protect minors. In some Member States, for example, television advertising aimed at children is completely banned at certain times. In other Member States, television advertising for toys is prohibited between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
  
   
• 331. 

  Numerous professions are affected by these kinds of restrictions: auditors, physicians, pharmacists, architects, accountants, notaries, lawyers.
  
   
• 332. 

  In one Member State, for example, a regulation on sales promotions provides that the value of prizes offered in promotional lotteries and games must not exceed EUR0.7.
  
   
• 333. 

  In one Member State, for example, it is prohibited to refer to a solarium as 'biolarium'.
  
   
• 334. 

  These restrictions may cover all advertising or just advertising messages relating to certain services (such as investment services) and may even apply in cases where the advertising concerned is aimed specifically at nationals of other Member States, such as foreign tourists.
  
   
• 335. 

  Where regulated professions such as auditors are concerned, for example, some Member States prohibit the unsolicited promotion of services, which may prevent such professionals from sending newsletters or brochures. For instance, a gravestone distributor was formally threatened with prosecution in another Member State for having faxed to undertakers in that country unsolicited (price) information about its activities.
  
   
• 336. 

  In some Member States, for example, the making of telephone calls to potential customers with a view to offering financial services is authorised only if the canvasser has obtained the prior consent of the client. In others, telephone canvassing is prohibited even if the persons targeted have been informed in advance in writing.
  
   
• 337. 

  For example, consumer associations have been taken to court for violation of honest trade practices following the publication of comparative tests.
  
   
• 338. 

  In one Member State, for example, it is forbidden to cite comparative tests in advertising.
  
   
• 339. 

  These still exist in some Member States for certain professions, such as notaries and surveyors.
  
   
• 340. 

  This requirements comes in various guises: an operator may be required to have its head office, a secondary establishment, a residence or a permanent presence etc. in a particular country.
  
   
• 341. 

  For example, wine transport and storage enterprises, building construction enterprises, patent agents, employment agencies, private security services, clinical analysis laboratories, boiler inspectors, enterprises handling the transport of deceased persons.
  
   
• 342. 

  A local representative is sometimes compulsory for the purpose of completing administrative formalities or for tax reasons.
  
   
• 343. 

  For regulated professions, for example, including tourist guides, mountain guides, craftspersons, trade-fair organisers, providers of telecommunications services, certification bodies, drinking water testing laboratories, patent agents, employment agencies, performers' agents, private security services, waste transport, importation and treatment companies, ambulance companies, leasing enterprises, enterprises providing cross-border electronic installation services. Several cases were also identified where national approval is regarded as being a de facto prerequisite for participation in public contracts. See study entitled 'Barriers to Trade in Business Services' cited above.
  
   
• 344. 

  For example, this was identified by estate agents and by tourist guides of certain nationalities.
  
   
• 345. 

  In some Member States, for example, construction enterprises have to register with a professional body, landscape architects with that profession's national association; craftspersons have to be entered in the national register of artisans (including for activities of an exceptional nature and of limited duration), and numerous regulated professions are subject to a requirement to register with a professional body or trade association. What is more, cross-sectoral obligations may exist, such as the regulation in one particular Member State which requires any foreign enterprise whose activity exceeds 30 working days to register with the chamber of commerce.
  
   
• 346. 

  In one Member State, for example, a separate declaration has to be made for every construction site.
  
   
• 347. 

  For example, for employment agencies, private security services or architects.
  
   
• 348. 

  For example, wine transport enterprises.
  
   
• 349. 

  For example, circus artists are sometimes confronted with long and complex procedures which are irreconcilable with the high level of mobility and frequency of travel which characterise this type of activity.
  
   
• 350. 

  For example, auditors, telecommunications operators, employment agencies, and private security services (which in one country are required to have legal personality).
  
   
• 351. 

  For example, for engineers, patent agents, electricians, and taxi drivers in some border regions. Difficulties in obtaining the qualification required in the country of destination were also highlighted by service providers carrying out electrical and sanitary installation work. Sport physiotherapists pointed out certain problems stemming from a lack of precise details as to the qualifications required by another Member State in which they were merely accompanying athletes visiting that country. See also studies entitled 'Principen om ömsesidigt rekännande på tjänsteområdet ' (The principle of mutual recognition in the services sector), Kommerskollegium, 26.October 2000; and 'Rapport om barrierer for integration i Øresundsregionen' (Report on barriers to integration in the Öresund region) Öresund Chamber of Trade and Industry, December 2001.
  
   
• 352. 

  For example, equivalence problems may affect the activities of dentists or cardiologists.
  
   
• 353. 

  For example, craftspersons, estate agents, or labour consultants.
  
   
• 354. 

  This may concern, for example, rules governing a professional code of good conduct or the protection of a general interest, but also more specific rules, such as an obligation for private security services to ensure that their staff wear a different uniform from that worn in their country of establishment; an obligation for construction companies to pay 15% of the value of the work in question to the tax authorities before the work has been completed, the inability of designers of games of chance to offer their services in some Member States which impose restrictions in respects of games which can be played in casinos; the application to certain activities in candidate countries of strict language requirements, including for the conclusion of contracts.
  
   
• 355. 

  For example, in relation to debt collection, transport and private security services.
  
   
• 356. 

  This relates to requirements (particularly as to weight and dimensions) concerning vehicles used for transporting certain types of goods, such as wine or chemical products, and vehicles which are leased or hired, as well as to restrictions on the use of tourist coaches in certain areas.
  
   
• 357. 

  For example, restrictions on driving on public holidays, obligations regarding specific documents/certificates relating to scheduled and actual driving times for a vehicle (and the translation of documents into the local language), VAT registration even where a vehicle is simply passing through the particular country, statistical declarations (which are a cause of delays at borders), the translation of documents into the local language, restrictions due to monopolies in port services, restrictions on cabotage concerning the islands of some Member States, airport taxes.
  
   
• 358. 

  The Commission presented several propositions to complete the legislative framework in January 2002.
  
   
• 359. 

  Some directives in this area are in the course of being transposed.
  
   
• 360. 

  The Commission launched an initiative at the end of 1999 to reform air traffic control in Europe. The European Council in Barcelona in March 2002 set 2004 as the date for the completion of the Single European Sky.
  
   
• 361. 

  This relates, for example, to obstacles to receiving pay-TV channels broadcast from other Member States, to concluding a mobile telephone contract in another Member State, to benefiting from advantageous transport tariffs or from promotional offers by large-scale distributors which are sometimes restricted to the national territory of a particular country and are inaccessible for potential users from other Member States. Other barriers may affect users of equipment needed for the receipt of services from other Member States, e.g. parabolic dish antennas (the installation of which for individual or communal use may be subject to prior authorisation, monitoring costs, a fee or restrictive internal rules governing the building concerned) or winners of a contest/lottery who have to pay a tax both to the Member State in which they took part in the contest or lottery and in their Member State of origin when repatriating their winnings, and mobile telephone users who cannot receive calls in certain locations owing to the use of scrambling systems (prohibited in the majority of Member States).
  
   
• 362. 

  For example, cases were pointed out where service recipients are subject to additional conditions and guarantees when taking out a subscription with a mobile telephony operator, or are subject to higher charges in other Member States when taking part in a cultural or sporting event (such as a marathon), visiting a museum or tourist site, buying a ferry ticket, taking out an insurance contract, using sports facilities, hiring a car etc. Finally, there are also situations where, conversely, residents of another Member State enjoy preferential treatment, e.g. free parking at an airport.
  
   
• 363. 

  COM(2001)398 final.
  
   
• 364. 

  See the summary by the Commission services of the results of the consultation at europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/policy/developments
  
   
• 365. 

  For example, the impossibility of drawing up a standard contract of employment for an enterprise which is active in all Member States was underscored in the study entitled 'Managing mobility matters - A European perspective' already cited above, section 4.3.1.
  
   
• 366. 

  For example, the regulated professions, private security services, debt recovery services, hotel services and road safety consultancy activities. Difficulties caused by regulations governing prices for tourism services were also identified as a problem by a report prepared for the Commission entitled: 'Yield management in small and medium-sized enterprises in the tourism industry', Arthur Andersen, Frankfurt am Main, OPOCE, 1997.
  
   
• 367. 

  For example, in one Member State an invoice for professional services in the legal field must contain a specific reference to rules governing complaints.
  
   
• 368. 

  Council Directive 2001/115/EC of 20 December 2001 amending Directive 77/388/EEC with a view to simplifying, modernising and harmonising the conditions laid down for invoicing in respect of value added tax. OJ L 015 , 17/01/2002 P. 0024 - 0028
  
   
• 369. 

  For example, in one Member States, banks make the recipient pay a fee even where the transferor has indicated that he wishes to bear all charges. In other cases, banks have refused to credit clients' accounts with amounts corresponding to winnings which the latter have lawfully gained in another Member State on the grounds that the bets concerned were not authorised in their own Member State. See also a report prepared for the Commission entitled: 'Bank charges in Europe', IEIC, April 2000.
  
   
• 370. 

  In the insurance field, supervisory authorities impose different rules on accounting and statistics, which excludes the use of high-performance computerised accounting systems.
  
   
• 371. 

  These obligations are the subject of a study by the Commission in preparation for simplification and modernisation proposals. The study is due to be completed at the beginning of 2003.
  
   
• 372. 

  The time it takes to issue a VAT number ranges from one week to six months, depending on the Member State.
  
   
• 373. 

  For example, where a service enterprise charges management fees to an enterprise established in another Member State for services which it has rendered, according to the classification used for this type of service the Member State of taxation will be the country of establishment either of the provider or of the client, so that there is a risk of double taxation if both of these criteria are applied to the same provision of services.
  
   
• 374. 

  For example, some Member States do not allow periodic VAT declarations to be submitted electronically. As far as summary declarations are concerned, one Member State accepts only hard-copy declarations handed over personally.
  
   
• 375. 

  Payments are generally effected by means of bank transfer. Some Member States stipulate that an account must be held with a local bank.
  
   
• 376. 

  This problem could be addressed by the Commission's proposal aiming to allow cross-border deduction (COM(1998)377), but this has still not been agreed by the Member States in the Council.
  
   
• 377. 

  For example, two persons residing in another Member State returned to their Member State of origin in order to undergo a surgical operation there without having received the authorisation of the competent authorities in their Member State of residence, who refuse to reimburse the costs of the operations.
  
   
• 378. 

  See the analysis developed in this respect in a study prepared for the Commission entitled: 'Implications of recent case law on the co-ordination of healthcare systems', International Association for Mutual Assistance, May 2000, and in the report by the High Level Committee on Health entitled: 'The Internal Market and Health services', 17 December 2001.
  
   
• 379. 

  This term is understood to cover all contracts in the wider sense which may be concluded by a public sector purchaser (whether in the traditional form of a public contract or a works or services concession), by which the latter purchases a service or entrusts a third party with the overall or partial management of a service, for which the third party assumes the associated risks.
  
   
• 380. 

  For example, these may concern contracts awarded on the basis of mutual trust (intuitu personae) to a local partner.
  
   
• 381. 

  For example, a lack of information for tenderers on the criteria according to which their abilities and the quality of their tender will be evaluated and on purchasers' practices regarding price.
  
   
• 382. 

  For example, an execution clause imposing on a company an obligation to employ a certain number people registered on national training programmes may make access more difficult for companies from other Member States which would not be able to employ persons benefiting from similar training in the Member State of their establishment.
  
   
• 383. 

  For example, the health profession, legal professions, auditors, consultants, property registrars, private security services, employment agencies, designers, estate agents, banking and insurance services, stock brokering companies, hauliers.
  
   
• 384. 

  For example, turnover or number of associates covered.
  
   
• 385. 

  See study carried out for the Commission entitled: 'Systems of civil liability of statutory auditors in the context of a Single Market for auditing services in the European Union', Price Waterhouse Coopers, January 2001.
  
   
• 386. 

  In one Member State, for example, all construction sites, including those operated by service providers from other Member States, must belong to an insurance scheme covering a specific guarantee which does not exist in the other Member States.
  
   
• 387. 

  In particular the essential need to take legal advice locally.
  
   
• 388. 

  See Communication from the Commission: 'Report on late payments in commercial transactions', OJ C 216, 17.7.1997, and the Report from the Commission entitled 'Creating an entrepreneurial Europe - The activities of the European Union for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)', COM/2001/0098 final; the latter report states that: "Late payments are the cause of one in four bankruptcies
   
• 389. 

  For example, a toll-free after-sales service number is not accessible outside the country of origin.
  
   
• 390. 

  For example, for the maintenance servicing of a lift, a whole series of administrative formalities have to be completed in relation to the workers posted (data on the workers, working hours, proof of payment of wages, translations, membership of a sickness insurance scheme, site plan and safety register etc.).
  
   
• 391. 

  It was also stated that it was often impossible to obtain any clarification from one's own authorities regarding the application of legislation in the other Member States.
  
   
• 392. 

  See 'Rapport franco-anglais', op cit.
  
   
• 393. 

  Commercial habits vary within markets and consumers are rarely a homogeneous group within a country or even within a region, though they can be identified as specific groups, according to, for example, age, level of education or the language they speak.
  
   
• 394. 

  In particular, for instance, the problems deriving from the differing interpretations of the Customs Code by the Member States, and even between the authorities of one and the same country, leading to additional procedures and costs for hauliers and their customers.
  
   
• 395. 

  Judgments of 20 February 2001, Analir, Case C-205/99; of 12 July 2001, Smits and Peerbooms, Case C-157/99; of 15 January 2002, Commission v. Italy, Case C-439/99; of 22 January 2002, Canal Satélite Digital SL, Case C-390/99.
  
   
• 396. 

  See, in particular, the judgment of 3 October 2000, Corsten, Case C-58/98.
  
   
• 397. 

  Final report of the high-level advisory group, chaired by Mr Mandelkern, presented on 13 November 2001.
  
   
• 398. 

  Opinion of the Committee of the Regions already quoted, see in particular, 10, 14, 16 and 27.
  
   
• 399. 

  Judgment of 15 January 2002, Commission v. Italy, Case C-439/99.
  
   
• 400. 

  See also the 'Report of the Business Environment Simplification task force Best', already quoted, page 61.
  
   
• 401. 

  Contained in certain directives on consumer protection; see the Green Paper on 'European Union Consumer Protection', COM (2001) 531 final, paragraph 2.3.
  
   
• 402. 

  Judgment of 1 December 1998, Ambry, Case C-410/96.
  
   
• 403. 

  These difficulties are explained in the Commission Communication 'Freedom to provide services and the general good in the insurance sector', C(1999)5046.
  
   
• 404. 

  See the 'Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - A Strategy to Improve the Operation of the VAT System Within the Context of the Internal Market', COM(2000)348 final.
  
   
• 405. 

  See the analysis of the Chamber of Commerce of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg 'Les autorisations de transport et de négoce de déchets en Saar-Lor-Lux', T. Theves.
  
   
• 406. 

  For example in the context of the implementation of Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services (OJ L 18 of 21.1.1997, page 1), in particular in the case of postings of very short duration.
  
   
• 407. 

  In a series of judgments of principle (of 28 April 1998, Kohll, C-158/96, of 12 July 2001, Smits and Peerbooms, C-157/99, of the same day, Vanbraekel, C-368/98) the Court ensured, regardless of Regulation 1408/71 (already cited), the right of patients to obtain reimbursement of the cost of health services provided in another Member State. In the field of posting of workers, the Court was led, on the basis of application of Article 49 EC, to reiterate the need to assess to what extent the application of a national rule imposing a minimum wage on a service undertaking from another Member State employing cross-border workers is necessary and proportionate; judgments of 15 March 2001, Mazzoleni, Case C-165/98 ; see also judgments of 25 October 2001, Finalarte, Case C-49/98 and of 24 January 2002, Portugaia Construções, Case C-164/99.
  
   
• 408. 

  Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of the Council of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving within the Community, already cited.
  
   
• 409. 

  See the study carried out for the Commission 'Implications of recent case on the co-ordination of health care systems', already cited.
  
   
• 410. 

  See Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament on European contract law, COM (2001) 398 final, 11.7.2001, p11 and 12.
  
   
• 411. 

  See the summary by the Commission services of the results of the consultation on europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/policy/developments
  
   
• 412. 

  For example, the concept of 'damages' in the Package travel Directive, (which contains no definition of this term), has been interpreted by the Court of Justice in the light of this directive only, whereas, the Advocate General suggested interpreting it by taking into account other Community Acts.
  
   
• 413. 

  The Court has already had to pronounce on collective rules. The first judgment dates from 1974 (Walrave, Case 36-74, point 18), but the Court has been called upon to apply this case law in several cases in recent years: judgments of 15 December 1995, Bosman, Case C-415/93, point 83, and of 11 April 2000, Deliège, Case C-51/96 and C-191/97, point 47, including a regulation of a professional association of lawyers (judgment of 19 February 2002, Wouters, Case C-309/99).
  
   
• 414. 

  Although this kind of conduct must be examined in the light of the rules of competition, the Court has already opened up the possibility of examining the compatibility of such conduct with the freedoms of the internal market; judgment of 8 June 2000, Angonese, Case C-281/98, on Article 39 EC; see also the judgment of 13 December 1984, Haug-Adrion, Case C-251/83 on the compatibility with Article 59 of the EC Treaty of contractual clauses laid down in the general conditions of an insurance contract.
  
   
• 415. 

  'A Member State may not make the provision of services in its territory subject to compliance with all the conditions required for establishment and thereby deprive of all practical effectiveness the provisions of the Treaty whose object is, precisely, to guarantee the freedom to provide services', judgment of 25 July 1991, Säger, Case C-76/90, point 13.
  
   
• 416. 

  Pursuant to Directive 98/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 July 1998 amending Directive 98/34/EC laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations, OJ L 217 of 5.8.1998, page 18.
  
   
• 417. 

  The consultation showed that this reversal of roles also appears in the application of the directives on insurance: whereas these provide the possibility, in certain cases, for the host Member State to apply its rules only when they are necessary for reasons of the general good, some Member States notify to the authorities of the country of origin an entire general list of rules which must be systematically complied with by a provider established on the territory of the latter. See the Communication 'Freedom to provide services and the general good in the insurance sector' already cited.
  
   
• 418. 

  'Services Sector in Flash Eurobarometer 106', Flash Eurobarometer 106 (Special Targets), survey to monitor the single market, September 2001, conducted on behalf of the European Commission, attached to Scoreboard No 9, 19.11.2001, europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/update
  
   
• 419. 

  The percentage being highest in France (60%) and lowest in Ireland (23%).
  
   
• 420. 

  Flash Eurobarometer 106 already cited.
  
   
• 421. 

  The monitoring is sometimes limited to informing the departments of the administration likely to be concerned.
  
   
• 422. 

  Portugaia Construções judgment already cited.
  
   
• 423. 

  This share is even higher if the number of employees in the manufacturing-industry engaged in services activities is taken into account. For example, a study from the Confederation of Swedish Enterprises indicates that estimates go up to 85% of persons employed. 'Svensk Internationell Tjänstehandel - nuläge och möjligheter', Rapport inom projektet Internationaliseringen av Svenskt Tjänsteföretagande, Svenskt Näringsliv, O. Erixon, 2001. Another study carried out for the European Commission, indicates that this share is also increasing in privatised utilities (e.g. electricity companies) which are shifting from traditional industrial activities to being flexible service-oriented companies. 'The Effects of the Liberalisation of the Electricity and Gas Sectors on Employment', ECOTEC research and consulting, 2000.
  
   
• 424. 

  The proportion of services in the US economy is still higher, accounting for about 74% GDP, although the EU is catching up. See, for instance: Commission report of 2002 on competitiveness (SEC (2002) 528 of 21 May 2002); Communication from the Commission on Productivity: The Key to Competitiveness of European Economies and Enterprises (COM (2002) 262 final, 21 May 2002); 'Dienstleistungsreport 2000', Preussag AG, together with the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft, Köln, 2000, 'Croissance et emploi dans le secteur des services, une analyse comparative', Bureau Fédéral du Plan Belgique, working paper 6-00, 2000.
  
   
• 425. 

  'The rise of the knowledge-based society will shift employment demand towards higher skill levels'. Quote from 'Innovation in the Service Sector - Selected Facts and Some Policy Conclusions', Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, G. Licht, G. Ebling, N. Janz, H. Niggemann, 1999, p. 5.
  
   
• 426. 

  Source: 'EU international transactions', Eurostat edition 2001.
  
   
• 427. 

  Source: 'EU Foreign Direct Investment', Eurostat 2000.
  
   
• 428. 

  See 'Job Revolution, Wie wir neue Arbeitsplätze gewinnen können', P. Hartz, 2001 and 'Grundlagen der Automobilwirtschaft', W. Diez, 2001
  
   
• 429. 

  For example, consumer electronics companies are offering an increasing range of video-game software or are investing in the entertainment (notably film) industries.
  
   
• 430. 

  Further examples are manufacturers of health care products who are increasingly offering consulting services to hospitals, producers of foodstuffs providing consulting on food safety and telecommunications operators who are generating considerable revenue from offering telephone assistance to software users.
  
   
• 431. 

  For example, an OECD report concluded that the distinction between manufacturers and service providers is no longer feasible. Likewise a Danish study noted that 31% of those Danish companies interviewed and officially listed as manufacturers considered themselves to be service providers. 'The service economy', OECD, Science Technology Industry Forum, Paris, 2000; 'Svensk Internationell Tjänstehandel - nuläge och möjligheter', op cit.
  
   
• 432. 

  See 'Dienstleistungsreport 2000' op cit; 'Marktpotentiale für Unternehmensbezogene Dienstleistungen im Globalen Wettbewerb', Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, 1998.
  
   
• 433. 

  See "Stratégies tertiaires des exportateurs industriels. Économies et sociéties. Les services de l'an 2000", Tome XXXIII N°5, mai 1999: p. 17-43; 'Trading Services in the Global Economy', L. Rubalcaba-Bermejo, J. Bryson, 2002.
  
   
• 434. 

  'S-Business: Defining the services industry', Association for Services Management, S.W. Brown, B.A van Bennekom, K. Goffin, J.A. Alexander, 2001, p.4.
  
   
• 435. 

  See "Innovation and Productivity in Services: State of the Art, OECD, D. Pilat, 2001; 'The Service Sector in the UK and France: Addressing Barriers to the Growth of Output and Employment' op cit.
  
   
• 436. 

  Such as an ageing population and higher participation of women in the labour force.
  
   
• 437. 

  See for example a report carried out for the European Commission 'Services for Individuals and Households in the European Union', Institute for Employment and Research, 2001.
  
   
• 438. 

  For example, architects and engineers might face problems concerning professional qualifications; construction companies concerning posting of their workers; insurance companies concerning different contract and taxation legislation.
  
   
• 439. 

  See the description of barriers in part 1. The temporary employment agency may not be able to provide services without being established in the countries concerned, the sales promotion agency may not be familiar with the detailed legal requirements for sales promotions, the road haulage firm may have difficulties using his vehicles, the accountant's firm may not have the required legal form etc.
  
   
• 440. 

  COM(2002)276 final
  
   
• 441. 

  COM(2002)276 final
  
   
• 442. 

  It should be noted that the utility of such a horizontal and dynamic evaluation is also recognised by the OECD: see 'Quantification of Costs to National Welfare from Barriers to Services Trade, a literature overview' OECD 2001
  
   
• 443. 

  Service exports from EU countries increased by 7.3% between 1990 and 1999 although this was not as rapid as the increase from the US and especially China and Japan. Since 1990 Western Europe has lost some 8.6 percentage points of its world market share. See for example recent Swedish and Danish studies: 'Svensk Internationell Tjänstehandel - nuläge och möjligheter', op cit and "Internationalisering af Service - Potentialer og Barriere, Erhvervsministeriet, 2001.
  
   
• 444. 

  See 'SMEs in Europe', Observatory of European SMEs, European Communities, No2 2002; 'Service Internationalisation - Characteristics, Potentials and Barriers' op cit.
  
   
• 445. 

  A German study on technical services highlights that the increase in cross-border trade of services is closely related to the emergence of multinational firms, which choose those service providers with the best price/quality, offer, independent of nationality."Marktzugangsregelungen/Berufszugangsregelungen für Technische Dienstleistungen und deren Auswirkungen auf die Internationale Wettbewerbsfähigkeit", Institut für Wirtschaftspolitik an der Universität zu Köln, M. Fredebeul-Krein, A. Schürfeld, Oktober 1998. See also 'Trading Services in the Global Economy', op cit.
  
   
• 446. 

  See for example 'Employment in Europe 2001: Recent Trends and Prospects', DG Employment and Social Affairs, European Communities, 2001
  
   
• 447. 

  According to the British Government, the increasing range of services that can be provided at a distance is also bringing to light new barriers which potentially limit trade and competition in the EU. See "Realising Europe's Potential, Economic Reform in Europe", HM Treasury, 2002.
  
   
• 448. 

  An example of the lost potential can be found in a survey amongst business services providers that was conducted on behalf of the European Commission, the majority of the respondents replied that they would be likely to increase their sales of business services in other EU Member States, if regulatory barriers were removed. 'Barriers to Trade in Business Services'; op cit.
  
   
• 449. 

  Examples were provided in the context of the consultation for the Services Strategy by service providers and law firms advising them.
  
   
• 450. 

  For example, a German study indicates that external costs of legislation hit SMEs disproportionately. 'Externe Kosten von Rechtsvorschriften, Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Ökonomischen Gesetzesanalyse, Institut für Weltwirtschaft an der Universität Kiel, H. Dicke, H. Hartung, 1986. See also 'Regulation and Small Firms", progress report from the Better Regulation Task Force, 1999.
  
   
• 451. 

  This is common to all service sectors. See 'Major Trends and Issues', OECD, M. Edwards, M.Croker, 2002.
  
   
• 452. 

  The averages are based on information in 13 Member States. Germany and Greece are excluded because relevant data was not available. 'Distributive Trade Statistics: Retail Trade in Europe', Statistics in Focus: Industry, Trade and Services., Eurostat, J. Hubertus, Theme 4-40, 2001.
  
   
• 453. 

  For certain product lines there are eight fashion seasons per year which mean that the remaining stocks for each line will need to be cleared through sales.
  
   
• 454. 

  It is important to note that even the Cecchini report (op cit) took a 'static' view of the EU economy. To quote the HM Treasury paper "Realising Europe's Potential: Economic Reform in Europe" op cit p.16: "Cecchini himself was aware of this limitation, recognising that dynamic, non-price factors stemming from the removal of trade barriers and accompanying reforms, would, over the longer term, have far greater consequences than any static step change for EU productivity, employment, growth, and economic and social stability."
  
   
• 455. 

  The fact that innovation is expected to be largest in those sectors which are most open to international competition has been acknowledged in: 'Innovation in the Service Sector - Selected Facts and Some Policy Conclusions', op cit, p. 5.
  
   
• 456. 

  For example, according to the study on Trading Services in the Global Economy op cit international growth in Europe by mergers and acquisitions has been increasing more rapidly than growth by greenfield foreign direct investment. Regarding the retail sector, it was stated at a seminar that: '...acquisitions have become the main means of growth to gain access to countries with restrictive legislation - in particular, France, Italy and Germany.' Quote from E. Colla 'Commerce 99 - Proceedings of the Seminar on Distributive Trades in Europe', Eurostat, Brussels, 22 -23 November 1999.
  
   
• 457. 

  At the seminar on Distributive Trades in Europe op cit, it was stated that 'The globalisation of companies also encourages concentration at national level. Wal-Mart and Promodes-Carrefour are examples: the acquisitions of Wal-Mart in Europe in 1998-1999 triggered a competitive reaction, of which the merger between the two French giants only constitutes the most impressive event'.
  
   
• 458. 

  See also 'Cross-border acquisitions and Greenfield entry', the Research Institute of Industrial Economics, P-J. Norbäck, L. Persson, Working paper No 570, 2002.
  
   
• 459. 

  "Realising Europe's Potential, Economic Reform in Europe" op cit.
  
   
• 460. 

  See "Innovation in Services and the Knowledge Economy; the Interface between Policy Makers and Enterprise: a Business Perspective", Irish Coalition of services industries, 2002 and 'Major trends and issues' op cit.
  
   
• 461. 

  The dissuasive effects of compliance costs should not be underestimated and experience of regulation at national level also deters companies from entering new markets. For example, a recent UK report notes that in order to comply with national provisions small owner-managers spend three to five working days per month dealing with government administration and that this has increased by 35% over the past four years. This rise is partly due to complexity of regulation resulting from increasing service differentiation. 'Local shops: a Progress Report on Small Firms Regulation' Better Regulation Taskforce (UK), July 2001.
  
   
• 462. 

  See for example, 'The Services Sector in the UK and France: Addressing Barriers to the Growth of Output and Employment' op cit.
  
   
• 463. 

  At the seminar on Distributive Trades in Europe (op cit) it was said that "The commercial fabric of these countries
   
• 464. 

  For example, in guidelines on the application a rule relating to civil jurisdiction, a national authority explicitly advises e-commerce companies not to sell to consumers in other EU Member States in order to avoid the risk of being sued for breach of contract in all these countries.
  
   
• 465. 

  COM(2001)736 of 7 December 2001
  
   
• 466. 

  The European Round Table on Financial Services has produced a report on 'The benefits of a working European retail market for Financial Services' F. Heinemann, M. Jopp 2002. It estimates that the potential cost savings could amount to EUR5bn and that the benefits could result in increased economic growth of between 0.5 and 0.7%. The report identifies the divergence between national rules in the area of consumer protection as a significant obstacle which 'makes a pan-European marketing strategy and product standardisation impossible'. Moreover, a Eurobarometer study carried out for the Commission (FLASH BE 117 'consumer study', January 2002) has shown that consumers have less confidence in purchases made in a Member State other than their own. 32% of European consumers feel well protected in a dispute with a company established in another Member State, compared with 56 % o, the case of a dispute with a domestic company.
  
   
• 467. 

  Analysed above in Part III, A.
  
   
• 468. 

  'Barriers to Trade in Business Services', already cited, page ii.
  
   
• 469. 

  Study attached to Single Market Scoreboard No 3, 3.11.1998. europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/update
  
   
• 470. 

  'a rigorous infringement policy vis-à-vis Member States which take measures incompatible with Articles 43 and 49 of the Treaty', European Parliament Resolution on the Commission Communication: 'An Internal Market Strategy for Services', already cited, 27.
  
   
• 471. 

  The opinion states that 'The Commission should perform in a more determined and effective way its role as guardian of the Treaty, particularly by speeding up the procedures for dealing with breaches of the principles of free movement of services and freedom of establishment, and by examining carefully the question of the proportionality of the national measures underlying these restrictions. At a time when an exceptional effort is required of the applicant countries in order to adopt the entire Community acquis, the Member States should feel obliged to set a good example', Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the Commission Communication: 'An Internal Market Strategy for Services', already cited, 7.5.
  
   
• 472. 

  This strategy was also noted in the field of public contracts; see 'Selling to the public sector in Europe. A practical guide for small and medium-sized companies'. OPOCE, 2000, page 17.
  
   
• 473. 

  Corsten judgment already cited; this case concerned a German architect who had entrust a Dutch undertaking with floor tiling work on a building in Germany. As the Dutch undertaking was not entered in the register of trades in Germany, the German administration of the labour inspectorate imposed a fine for infringement of the German legislation on combating clandestine working. Such behaviour was challenged by the Court in the light of the principle of the free provision of services.
  
   
• 474. 

  In this context, a number of contributions from the building sector which stress the multiplication of labour inspectorate checks when the site is occupied by providers established in other Member States.
  
   
• 475. 

  Commission Communication 'New European Labour Markets, Open to All, with Access for All', COM (2001)116 final of 28.02.2001 'The Internal Market in services is still fragmented. Yet it accounts for two-thirds of total employment, and for all new employment growth. Since, with technological advances, many services can now be provided at a distance, this fragmentation is causing distortions and may, indirectly, encourage movements of jobs outside the Union, or the development of irregular work within.'
  
   
• 476. 

  See the consultation in progress on a proposal for a framework directive on commercial practice; Commission Communication on the follow up to the Green Paper on consumer protection COM(2002)289.
  
   
• 477. 

  Op cit.
  
   
• 478. 

  Germany was excluded because of complications arising from rules relating to market research, but the Commission services gathered comparable information through a separate exercise.
  
   
• 479. 

  De Europese Commissie kent nummers toe aan officiële documenten van de Europese Unie. De Commissie maakt onderscheid in een aantal typen documenten door middel van het toekennen van verschillende nummerseries. Het onderscheid is gebaseerd op het soort document en/of de instelling van de Unie van wie het document afkomstig is.
   
• 480. 

  De Raad van de Europese Unie kent aan wetgevingsdossiers een uniek toe. Dit nummer bestaat uit een vijfcijferig volgnummer gevolgd door een schuine streep met de laatste twee cijfers van het jaartal, bijvoorbeeld 12345/00 - een document met nummer 12345 uit het jaar 2000.
   
• 481. 

  Het interinstitutionele nummer is een nummerreeks die binnen de Europese Unie toegekend wordt aan voorstellen voor regelgeving van de Europese Commissie.
  Binnen de Europese Unie worden nog een aantal andere nummerseries gebruikt. Iedere instelling heeft één of meerdere sets documenten met ieder een eigen nummering. Die reeksen komen niet overeen met elkaar of het interinstitutioneel nummer.
   
• 482. 

  Deze databank van de Europese Unie biedt de mogelijkheid de actuele werkzaamheden (workflow) van de Europese instellingen (Europees Parlement, Raad, ESC, Comité van de Regio's, Europese Centrale Bank, Hof van Justitie enz.) te volgen. EURlex volgt alle voorstellen (zoals wetgevende en begrotingsdossiers) en mededelingen van de Commissie, vanaf het moment dat ze aan de Raad of het Europees Parlement worden voorgelegd.
   
• 483. 

  Als dag van bekendmaking van een Europees besluit geldt de dag waarop het besluit in het Publicatieblad wordt bekendgemaakt, en daardoor in alle officiële talen van de Europese Unie bij het Publicatiebureau beschikbaar is.