The Bolkestein directive (officially Services in the Internal Market Directive''
2006/123/EC is an
EU law aiming at establishing a
single market for
services within the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
(EU). Drafted under the leadership of the former
European Commissioner for the Internal Market
The Commissioner for Internal Market is a member of the European Commission. The post is currently held by Commissioner Thierry Breton.
Responsibilities
The portfolio concerns the development of the 480-million-strong European single market, pr ...
Frits Bolkestein, it has been popularly referred to by his name. It was seen as an important kick-start to the
Lisbon Agenda
The Lisbon Strategy, also known as the Lisbon Agenda or Lisbon Process, was an action and development plan devised in 2000, for the economy of the European Union between 2000 and 2010. A pivotal role in its formulation was played by the Portuguese ...
which, launched in 2000, was an agreed strategy to make the EU "the world's most dynamic and competitive economy" by 2010.
The Bolkestein directive was harshly criticised by left-wing European politicians, who stated that it would lead to competition between workers in different parts of Europe – hence the expression "
Polish plumber" – resulting in
social dumping Social dumping is a practice of employers who use cheaper workforce, labour than is usually available at their site of production or sale, for example where production is moved to a low-wage country or area, or where poorly-paid migrant workers are ...
. After the 2004 original draft had been substantially amended, the proposal was approved on 12 December 2006 by the European Parliament and Council, and adopted as the Directive 2006/123/EC.
History
2004 original proposal: the three pillars
Devised by the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
in March 2004, the first draft of the Services Directive propounded several important changes in the EU services market. Assuming every piece of regulation to be burdensome by default, the Directive required member states to justify all existing legislation on the grounds that it was non-discriminatory, necessary and proportional.
However, the changes proposed in the Directive would have not affected the professions, to which the rules of the country where the services are provided would continue to apply under the Directive on the Recognition of Diplomas. Nor, contrary to the popular belief that, for example, a
Polish plumber could work in France under Polish
labour law
Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...
), would the changes have affected social legislation or health and safety at work (HSW). In these social fields the
Posting-of-Workers Directive requires that short-term social protection, such as minimum wages and HSW, is governed by the rules of the country where the services are provided (the host country), while long-term benefits, such as pension and unemployment benefit contributions, remain with the country of origin (to which the posted workers returns after the service is over).
Pros and cons
Arguments in favour of the original version
Legally the Directive did not bring anything into EU law that was not already in the
EC Treaty as interpreted by the Court of Justice. The "country of origin" principle had been gradually introduced into EU law on the freedom of movement of goods in the Cassis de Dijon case (1979) and into other areas, notably services and establishment, soon after. Secondary legislation cannot introduce rights and obligations that do not already have a basis in the Treaty. In this respect, the original draft of the Services Directive was not a novelty, but a clarification of the case law of the European Court of Justice, and a continuation of the "country of origin" principle, which had already been applied in the TV Without Frontiers Directive, the Second Banking Directive, the Third Insurance Directive, the E-Commerce Directive and others.
Criticisms of the early draft
The first version of the Bolkestein Directive provoked intense debate and mass protests in various EU countries, including
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
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...
. On 21 March 2005 nearly 100,000 people marched in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
to protest against the Directive. Critics argued that the Directive would erode many of the Member States' regulations governing industry and the environment, and would lead to competition between workers in different parts of Europe, resulting in a decline in income levels. The expression "
Polish plumber" became famous during the French debate about the Directive, referring to the fear that under the Directive a Polish plumber would be able to work in France under Polish
labour law
Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...
s. Critics also charged that the Directive was a sign that "Anglo-Saxon" economic policy was running rampant over the EU and claimed that the Directive would inevitably lead to "
social dumping Social dumping is a practice of employers who use cheaper workforce, labour than is usually available at their site of production or sale, for example where production is moved to a low-wage country or area, or where poorly-paid migrant workers are ...
" as companies and jobs were relocated to the lower-cost and less regulated economies of eastern Europe. They also claimed, falsely, that the Directive would have an adverse effect on social legislation and HSW (when, as mentioned above, it would have no effect on either).
Developments during 2005
On 22 March 2005 EU leaders agreed on a "far reaching" revision of the Directive to preserve the
European social model. French President
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
told an EU summit in Brussels that the changes planned by the Directive were "unacceptable". Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg declared: "If France wishes to eliminate the risk of social dumping, this will be addressed in the framework of the legislative procedure and of co-decision, which has been initiated." Modifications to the Directive were introduced at a later stage, in the normal course of the EU legislative process.
On 1 July 2005 the UK, which was in favour of the Directive, took the chair of the
presidency of the Council of the European Union. In
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
's speech to the European Parliament on 23 June he committed the UK Presidency to try to "resolve some of the hard dossiers," of which the Services Directive was one. However, agreement was not achieved during its presidency.
Parliamentary amendments to the original version
From 14 to 16 February 2006 a plenary session of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
carried out its
first reading of the Directive in
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
. On 16 February 2006
MEPs
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
(Members of the European Parliament) voted 391–213 in favour of a proposed revision to the Directive, although it had already been "watered down" from the original version read to the European Parliament on 14 February, so much so that
Socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
MEP
Evelyne Gebhardt
Evelyne Gebhardt (born 19 January 1954) is a German politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1994 to 2022. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, part of the Party of European Socialists.
Her m ...
said that the Directive had been "turned upside down," a claim contested by labour organisations. The majority of members of the two largest groupings in the Parliament, the conservative
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
(EPP) and the centre-left
Party of European Socialists (PES) voted in favour of the revised draft. The
Party of the European Left, the
European Green Party and the
French Socialist Party
The Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste , PS) is a French centre-left and social-democratic political party. It holds pro-European views.
The PS was for decades the largest party of the "French Left" and used to be one of the two major p ...
voted against the new revision. Meanwhile, about 50,000 people demonstrated against the "country of origin principle" in Strasbourg.
Suggested inclusions
The proposed Directive would have covered:
*Services of "
general public interest
In philosophy, economics, and political science, the common good (also commonwealth, general welfare, or public benefit) is either what is shared and beneficial for all or most members of a given community, or alternatively, what is achieved by c ...
" (
public services), including, but not limited to,
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
,
sewage
Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from residenc ...
and
waste
Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste prod ...
management.
*Services provided to businesses, such as management consultancy, certification and testing, facilities management and advertising,
*Services provided both to businesses and to consumers, such as real estate agencies, construction services, architects, distribution services, car rental and travel agencies.
*Consumer leisure services such as tourism, sports centres and amusement parks.
Suggested exclusions
The following, however, would have been excluded:
*
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...
,
*
Gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
*
Temporary employment agencies,
*
Legal and
social
Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not.
Etymology
The word "social" derives from ...
services,
*
Postal and
Audiovisual services
Audiovisual (AV) is electronic media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations, films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions.
Audiovisual service pro ...
,
*
Public health care
Publicly funded healthcare is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most healthcare needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are se ...
(but not private health care),
*
Public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
The controversial "
country of origin" principle was explicitly left out, but there was no "country of destination" principle to replace it. The
European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
would therefore be charged with deciding, through its
jurisprudence
Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...
, which country's
labour law
Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...
s would apply in each case.
Comments on the amended draft
Proponents of liberalisation
Business groups stated that the new Directive would limit the benefits that the early version of the Directive would have provided.
The European Commission estimated that this proposed version of the Directive would have created an additional 600,000 jobs in the EU, would have boosted economic growth, and would have increased product quality and choice for consumers.
The ''Wall Street Journal'' estimated that the revised Directive would have failed in its objective: the liberalisation of services at the heart of the EU.
D. Godefridi of the Hayek Institute wrote in ''
le Figaro
''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...
'': "Services represent 70% of the European economy. In not liberalising these the EU remains below the objective of the founding treaties of 1957: there is no common European market. For ten years European economic project has moved backwards. On 30 May 2006 the European political elite buried the very essence of the European project".
Opponents of liberalisation
Left-wing and labour organisations maintained that the new version of the Directive was not as favourable to workers as it was made out to be. There was also concern that the "country of origin" principle would most likely still be applied by the European Court of Justice, as previous jurisprudence seemed to suggest. In particular, it was pointed out that member states would be prohibited from applying any kind of restricted authorisation to businesses in the fields covered by the Directive, which would, they claimed, make administration of labour laws close to impossible.
Final revision
On 5 April 2006 the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
presented a new version of the Directive to the
Council of Ministers
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
, including most of the modifications voted by the MEPs, in accordance with the
codecision procedure
The European Union adopts legislation through a variety of legislative procedures. The procedure used for a given legislative proposal depends on the policy area in question. Most legislation needs to be proposed by the European Commission and ...
. On 29 May 2006 the Council approved the revised text, which subsequently was resubmitted to the Parliament for its second and final reading.
Approval and implementation
The Directive, after being substantially amended from the original proposal, was adopted on 12 December 2006 by the
Council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
and the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, and published on the
Official Journal of the European Union on 27 December 2006 as the Directive 2006/123/EC. Therefore, the Directive on services in the internal market should have been completely implemented by the Member States by 28 December 2009.
Although the final version did not include the "country of origin" principle, the Directive instead reminded Member States of the principle of free movement, while accepting inroads when free movement collides with other public interests. However, before making such inroads, authorities have to verify and recognize any protection already provided in the country of origin - under the mutual recognition principle, they need to take into account what takes place in other countries before proceeding.
Implementation
The Services Directive, which came into force on 28 December 2009, requires all EU Member States to establish web portals so that anyone who provides a service will have a "point of single contact" where they can find out what legal requirements they need to meet to operate in the country in question. Service providers can also use the web portals to apply for any licence or permit they need.
The Directive should make it easier for EU service providers to operate in any other EU Member State. The UK's
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
, type = Department
, logo = Department for Business, Innovation and Skills logo.svg
, logo_width = 200px
, logo_caption =
, picture = File:Лондан. 2014. Жнівень 26.JPG
, seal =
, se ...
(Services Directive implementation team), working with marketing consultants, created the EUGO brand for use on point-of-single-contact portals across Europe.
See also
*
Four Freedoms (European Union)
*
Lisbon Strategy
*
Labour law
Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...
Further reading
*
*
*
Pdf.
References
External links
The steps of the EU legislation procedure adopting Directive 2006/123/ECon PreLex
Final text of Directive 2006/123/EC of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market*
ttp://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file53100.pdf Guidance for Business on the Provision of Services Regulations
By country
Eugo Spain
News
* (retrieved 27 March 2005)
* (retrieved 27 March 2005)
* (retrieved 27 March 2005)
* (retrieved 27 March 2005)
* (retrieved 27 March 2005)
* (retrieved 27 March 2005)
* (retrieved 27 March 2005)
*
* A ''
Guardian
Guardian usually refers to:
* Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another
* ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper
(The) Guardian(s) may also refer to:
Places
* Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
'' article by
George Monbiot
George Joshua Richard Monbiot ( ; born 27 January 1963) is a British writer known for his environmental and political activism. He writes a regular column for ''The Guardian'' and is the author of a number of books.
Monbiot grew up in Oxfordsh ...
, an attempted 'coup against social Europe'? (8 March 2005)
* (accessible in English o
www.humaniteinenglish.com
*
*
*
*
* (English transl. availables o
Humaniteinenglish.com.
*{{cite news , title= Services Directive: Services Directive , publisher=EU Services Directive - BIS , date= 2010-01-16 , url=http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/europeandtrade/europe/services-directive/page9583.html
Services in the internal market
International trade law
2006 in law
2006 in the European Union
Barroso Commission