The European Commission has launched a new strategy to improve the
practical working of the Internal Market by ensuring that service
providers can operate as easily throughout the EU as they can in
any single Member State.
The aim of the strategy is to eliminate by the end of 2002 all
barriers that can currently prevent a business model successful
pioneered in one Member State from being introduced elsewhere in
the Union. Currently, the Commission says, red tape all too often
stops cross-border competition in services, restricts choice and
increases costs for business and private customers and so limits
economic growth and job creation.
Under the Strategy, the Commission will this year accelerate a
number of initiatives in specific problem areas (such as
recognition of qualifications and sales promotions) whilst in
parallel rigorously analysing persistent barriers to cross-frontier
movement of services and where necessary pursuing infringement
procedures. For e-commerce businesses, sales promotions in Germany,
for example, are strictly limited, meaning that a UK web site
cannot legally sell to German consumers if it offers a promotion
such as “buy two, get one free.”
In 2002, the Commission will set a precise timetable for Member
States to dismantle specific barriers identified, present
non-legislative supporting measures (e.g. codes of conduct) and
propose harmonised rules for service provision where strictly
necessary. It will also propose a mechanism to ensure that in other
areas, EU Member States will be required to recognise each others'
rules and practices, rather than impose their own, whilst ensuring
a high level of protection of public interest objectives.
Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein said:
"The services sector in Europe offers huge
potential for growth, competition and employment. If the EU
employed the same percentage of people in the services sector as
the US, we could create 36 million new jobs. This strategy marks a
step change for Internal Market policy towards the free movement of
services.
"To date we have tended to approach services
on a sector by sector basis which has led to an over-emphasis on
sector-specific detail when so many of the necessary changes are
common to a wide range of services. This new approach to the
problem reflects the fundamental shift in Europe from a
manufacturing to a service-driven economy."
The Commission is inviting comment from consumers and businesses
with experience in trying to provide or use services across
national frontiers in developing this strategy. Any comments on the
issues raised in the Communication should be sent to MARKT-services@cec.eu.int
The full text of the Communication is available on the Europa website
