A European Parliamentary Committee has rejected calls to remove the 'country of origin' principle from the draft Services Directive – a move that would have forced some European traders to comply with the relevant laws of all 25 Member States, rather than just their own.
The draft Directive on Services in the Internal Market, put forward by the Commission in January last year, is designed to cut the red tape that currently prevents businesses from offering their services across borders, or from opening premises in other Member States.According to the Commission, the proposals will cover all services provided to consumers and businesses except free services provided directly by public authorities, or services that are already covered by specific EU law – such as financial services, telecommunications and transport.Services are covered whether they are provided in person or at a distance, including via the internet; whether the service provider is located temporarily or permanently in the Member State; and whether the customer travels to the State in which the service is to be provided (to a hotel, or theme park, for example).In general terms, the Directive proposes that Member States remove barriers, such as licensing procedures, that prevent or discourage operators from other Member States from setting up on their territory.It seeks to simplify the process of providing a service in another Member State by limiting the number of documents required, and by establishing electronic procedures, and aims to ensure that businesses can obtain all necessary information and complete all formalities through single points of contact instead of having to deal with a multitude of different authorities.The Commission plans to apply the country of origin principle – whereby once a service provider is operating legally in one Member State, it can market its services in others without having to comply with further rules in those "host" Member States.But this is too much for some Member States, who fear that service providers from the newer Member States will be able to undermine those established in older States, where requirements can be much more rigorous.The Industry Committee of the European Parliament debated the issue earlier this week, when it considered the first part of rapporteur Evelyne Gebhardt's response to the Commission proposals. This put forward many amendments to the draft Directive, watering it down considerably by, amongst other things, removing the country of origin principle.According to reports, this was rejected by a majority vote of the Industry Committee on Tuesday.Gebhardt has yet to publish the second part of her response, relating to other aspects of the Directive.
Most contracts for construction works will include an extension of time mechanism, whereby the contractor will be entitled to an extension of time to the agreed completion date – the date by which the works must be completed – in circumstances where there are delays to a project which are not the contractor’s fault or for which the employer has taken the risk.
UK employers faced with industrial action need to understand the steps that a trade union must take before they can lawfully make a call for industrial action and the timing of those steps.
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