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<body style="background: rgb(187, 187, 187);"><div class="Wrapper clearfix" style="max-width: none;"><div class="container-fluid"><div class="row row-offcanvas"><div class="col-md-3" id="TOC"><div id="TOCSidebarWrapper"><div class="affix-top" id="TOCSidebarSA" style="width: 355px;"><div class="tocWrapper"><nav class="toc-sidebar" style="overflow-y: auto; max-height: 658px;"><ul id="TOC_docHtml" class="nav toc-sidenav"><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e39-36-1">Top</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1057-36-1">CHAPTER I - GENERAL PROVISIONS</a><ul class="nav"><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1064-36-1">Article 1 - Subject matter</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1107-36-1">Article 2 - Scope</a></li><li><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1202-36-1">Article 3 - Relationship with other provisions of Community law</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1260-36-1">Article 4 - Definitions</a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1393-36-1">CHAPTER II - ADMINISTRATIVE SIMPLIFICATION</a><ul class="nav"><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1400-36-1">Article 5 - Simplification of procedures</a></li><li><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1471-36-1">Article 6 - Points of single contact</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1500-36-1">Article 7 - Right to information</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1567-36-1">Article 8 - Procedures by electronic means</a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1588-36-1">CHAPTER III - FREEDOM OF ESTABLISHMENT FOR PROVIDERS</a><ul class="nav"></ul></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1596-36-1">SECTION 1 - Authorisations</a><ul class="nav"><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1603-36-1">Article 9 - Authorisation schemes</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1643-36-1">Article 10 - Condiations for the granting of authorisation</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1727-36-1">Article 11 - Duration of authorisation</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1788-36-1">Article 12 - Selection from among several candidates</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1808-36-1">Article 13 - Authorisation procedures</a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1869-36-1">SECTION 2 - Requirements prohibited or subject to evaluation</a><ul class="nav"><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1876-36-1">Article 14 - Prohibited requirements</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e1947-36-1">Article 15 - Requirements to be evaluated</a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2080-36-1">CHAPTER IV - FREE MOVEMENT OF SERVICES</a><ul class="nav"></ul></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2088-36-1">SECTION 1 - Freedom to provide services and related derogations</a><ul class="nav"><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2095-36-1">Article 16 - Freedom to provide services</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2191-36-1">Article 17 - Additional derogations from the freedom to provide services</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2425-36-1">Article 18 - Case-by-case derogations</a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2472-36-1">SECTION 2 - Rights of recipients of services</a><ul class="nav"><li><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2479-36-1">Article 19 - Prohibited restrictions</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2500-36-1">Article 20 - Non-discrimination</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2515-36-1">Article 21 - Assistance for recipients</a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2566-36-1">CHAPTER V - QUALITY OF SERVICES</a><ul class="nav"><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2573-36-1">Article 22 - Information on providers and their services</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2746-36-1">Article 23 - Professional liability insurance and guarantees</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2805-36-1">Article 24 - Commercial communications by the regulated professions</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2820-36-1">Article 25 - Multidisciplinary activities</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2876-36-1">Article 26 - Policy on quality of services</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2920-36-1">Article 27 - Settlement of disputes</a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2970-36-1">CHAPTER VI - ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION</a><ul class="nav"><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e2977-36-1">Article 28 - Mutual assistance – general obligations</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3022-36-1">Article 29 - Mutual assistance – general obligations for the Member State of establishment</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3042-36-1">Article 30 - Supervision by the Member State of establishment in the event of the temporary movement of a provider to another Member State</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3062-36-1">Article 31 - Supervision by the Member State where the service is provided in the event of the temporary movement of the provider</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3101-36-1">Article 32 - Alert mechanism</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3121-36-1">Article 33 - Information on the good repute of providers</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3147-36-1">Article 34 - Accompanying measures</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3167-36-1">Article 35 - Mutual assistance in the event of case-by-case derogations</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3222-36-1">Article 36 - Implementing measures</a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3230-36-1">CHAPTER VII - CONVERGENCE PROGRAMME</a><ul class="nav"><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3237-36-1">Article 37 - Codes of conduct at Community level</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3252-36-1">Article 38 - Additional harmonisation</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3276-36-1">Article 39 - Mutual evaluation</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3340-36-1">Article 40 - Committee procedure</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3360-36-1">Article 41 - Review clause</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3370-36-1">Article 42 - Amendment of Directive 98/27/EC</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3403-36-1">Article 43 - Protection of personal data</a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3411-36-1">CHAPTER VIII - FINAL PROVISIONS</a><ul class="nav"><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3418-36-1">Article 44 - Transposition</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3441-36-1">Article 45 - Entry into force</a></li><li class=""><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#d1e3451-36-1">Article 46 - Addressees</a></li></ul></li></ul></nav></div></div></div></div><div id="docHtml" class="col-md-9" style="">
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<p class="hd-date">27.12.2006 </p>
</td>
<td>
<p class="hd-lg">EN</p>
</td>
<td>
<p class="hd-ti">Official Journal of the European Union</p>
</td>
<td>
<p class="hd-oj">L 376/36</p>
</td>
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<hr class="separator">
<p class="doc-ti" id="d1e39-36-1">
<span>DIRECTIVE 2006/123/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL</span>
</p>
<p class="doc-ti">of 12 December 2006</p>
<p class="doc-ti">on services in the internal market</p>
<p class="normal">THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,</p>
<p class="normal">Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first and third sentence of Article 47(2) and Article 55 thereof,</p>
<p class="normal">Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,</p>
<p class="normal">Having regard to the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee<a id="ntc1-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0001" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr1-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0001"> (<span class="super">1</span>)</a>,</p>
<p class="normal">Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions<a id="ntc2-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0002" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr2-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0002"> (<span class="super">2</span>)</a>,</p>
<p class="normal">Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty<a id="ntc3-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0003" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr3-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0003"> (<span class="super">3</span>)</a>,</p>
<p class="normal">Whereas:</p>
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<p class="normal">(1)</p>
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<p class="normal">The European Community is seeking to forge ever closer links between the States and peoples of Europe and to ensure economic and social progress. In accordance with Article 14(2) of the Treaty, the internal market comprises an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of services is ensured. In accordance with Article 43 of the Treaty the freedom of establishment is ensured. Article 49 of the Treaty establishes the right to provide services within the Community. The elimination of barriers to the development of service activities between Member States is essential in order to strengthen the integration of the peoples of Europe and to promote balanced and sustainable economic and social progress. In eliminating such barriers it is essential to ensure that the development of service activities contributes to the fulfilment of the task laid down in Article 2 of the Treaty of promoting throughout the Community a harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities, a high level of employment and of social protection, equality between men and women, sustainable and non-inflationary growth, a high degree of competitiveness and convergence of economic performance, a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment, the raising of the standard of living and quality of life and economic and social cohesion and solidarity among Member States.</p>
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<p class="normal">(2)</p>
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<p class="normal">A competitive market in services is essential in order to promote economic growth and create jobs in the European Union. At present numerous barriers within the internal market prevent providers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), from extending their operations beyond their national borders and from taking full advantage of the internal market. This weakens the worldwide competitiveness of European Union providers. A free market which compels the Member States to eliminate restrictions on cross-border provision of services while at the same time increasing transparency and information for consumers would give consumers wider choice and better services at lower prices.</p>
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<p class="normal">(3)</p>
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<p class="normal">The report from the Commission on ‘The State of the Internal Market for Services’ drew up an inventory of a large number of barriers which are preventing or slowing down the development of services between Member States, in particular those provided by SMEs, which are predominant in the field of services. The report concludes that a decade after the envisaged completion of the internal market, there is still a huge gap between the vision of an integrated European Union economy and the reality as experienced by European citizens and providers. The barriers affect a wide variety of service activities across all stages of the provider's activity and have a number of common features, including the fact that they often arise from administrative burdens, the legal uncertainty associated with cross-border activity and the lack of mutual trust between Member States.</p>
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<p class="normal">Since services constitute the engine of economic growth and account for 70 % of GDP and employment in most Member States, this fragmentation of the internal market has a negative impact on the entire European economy, in particular on the competitiveness of SMEs and the movement of workers, and prevents consumers from gaining access to a greater variety of competitively priced services. It is important to point out that the services sector is a key employment sector for women in particular, and that they therefore stand to benefit greatly from new opportunities offered by the completion of the internal market for services. The European Parliament and the Council have emphasised that the removal of legal barriers to the establishment of a genuine internal market is a matter of priority for achieving the goal set by the European Council in Lisbon of 23 and 24 March 2000 of improving employment and social cohesion and achieving sustainable economic growth so as to make the European Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010, with more and better jobs. Removing those barriers, while ensuring an advanced European social model, is thus a basic condition for overcoming the difficulties encountered in implementing the Lisbon Strategy and for reviving the European economy, particularly in terms of employment and investment. It is therefore important to achieve an internal market for services, with the right balance between market opening and preserving public services and social and consumer rights.</p>
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<p class="normal">(5)</p>
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<p class="normal">It is therefore necessary to remove barriers to the freedom of establishment for providers in Member States and barriers to the free movement of services as between Member States and to guarantee recipients and providers the legal certainty necessary for the exercise in practice of those two fundamental freedoms of the Treaty. Since the barriers in the internal market for services affect operators who wish to become established in other Member States as well as those who provide a service in another Member State without being established there, it is necessary to enable providers to develop their service activities within the internal market either by becoming established in a Member State or by making use of the free movement of services. Providers should be able to choose between those two freedoms, depending on their strategy for growth in each Member State.</p>
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<p class="normal">(6)</p>
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<p class="normal">Those barriers cannot be removed solely by relying on direct application of Articles 43 and 49 of the Treaty, since, on the one hand, addressing them on a case-by-case basis through infringement procedures against the Member States concerned would, especially following enlargement, be extremely complicated for national and Community institutions, and, on the other hand, the lifting of many barriers requires prior coordination of national legal schemes, including the setting up of administrative cooperation. As the European Parliament and the Council have recognised, a Community legislative instrument makes it possible to achieve a genuine internal market for services.</p>
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<p class="normal">(7)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive establishes a general legal framework which benefits a wide variety of services while taking into account the distinctive features of each type of activity or profession and its system of regulation. That framework is based on a dynamic and selective approach consisting in the removal, as a matter of priority, of barriers which may be dismantled quickly and, for the others, the launching of a process of evaluation, consultation and complementary harmonisation of specific issues, which will make possible the progressive and coordinated modernisation of national regulatory systems for service activities which is vital in order to achieve a genuine internal market for services by 2010. Provision should be made for a balanced mix of measures involving targeted harmonisation, administrative cooperation, the provision on the freedom to provide services and encouragement of the development of codes of conduct on certain issues. That coordination of national legislative regimes should ensure a high degree of Community legal integration and a high level of protection of general interest objectives, especially protection of consumers, which is vital in order to establish trust between Member States. This Directive also takes into account other general interest objectives, including the protection of the environment, public security and public health as well as the need to comply with labour law.</p>
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<p class="normal">(8)</p>
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<p class="normal">It is appropriate that the provisions of this Directive concerning the freedom of establishment and the free movement of services should apply only to the extent that the activities in question are open to competition, so that they do not oblige Member States either to liberalise services of general economic interest or to privatise public entities which provide such services or to abolish existing monopolies for other activities or certain distribution services.</p>
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<p class="normal">(9)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive applies only to requirements which affect the access to, or the exercise of, a service activity. Therefore, it does not apply to requirements, such as road traffic rules, rules concerning the development or use of land, town and country planning, building standards as well as administrative penalties imposed for non-compliance with such rules which do not specifically regulate or specifically affect the service activity but have to be respected by providers in the course of carrying out their economic activity in the same way as by individuals acting in their private capacity.</p>
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<p class="normal">(10)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive does not concern requirements governing access to public funds for certain providers. Such requirements include notably those laying down conditions under which providers are entitled to receive public funding, including specific contractual conditions, and in particular quality standards which need to be observed as a condition for receiving public funds, for example for social services.</p>
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<p class="normal">(11)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive does not interfere with measures taken by Member States, in accordance with Community law, in relation to the protection or promotion of cultural and linguistic diversity and media pluralism, including the funding thereof. This Directive does not prevent Member States from applying their fundamental rules and principles relating to the freedom of press and freedom of expression. This Directive does not affect Member State laws prohibiting discrimination on grounds of nationality or on grounds such as those set out in Article 13 of the Treaty.</p>
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<p class="normal">(12)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive aims at creating a legal framework to ensure the freedom of establishment and the free movement of services between the Member States and does not harmonise or prejudice criminal law. However, Member States should not be able to restrict the freedom to provide services by applying criminal law provisions which specifically affect the access to or the exercise of a service activity in circumvention of the rules laid down in this Directive.</p>
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<p class="normal">(13)</p>
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<p class="normal">It is equally important that this Directive fully respect Community initiatives based on Article 137 of the Treaty with a view to achieving the objectives of Article 136 thereof concerning the promotion of employment and improved living and working conditions.</p>
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<p class="normal">(14)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive does not affect terms and conditions of employment, including maximum work periods and minimum rest periods, minimum paid annual holidays, minimum rates of pay as well as health, safety and hygiene at work, which Member States apply in compliance with Community law, nor does it affect relations between social partners, including the right to negotiate and conclude collective agreements, the right to strike and to take industrial action in accordance with national law and practices which respect Community law, nor does it apply to services provided by temporary work agencies. This Directive does not affect Member States' social security legislation.</p>
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<p class="normal">(15)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive respects the exercise of fundamental rights applicable in the Member States and as recognised in the Charter of fundamental Rights of the European Union and the accompanying explanations, reconciling them with the fundamental freedoms laid down in Articles 43 and 49 of the Treaty. Those fundamental rights include the right to take industrial action in accordance with national law and practices which respect Community law.</p>
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<p class="normal">(16)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive concerns only providers established in a Member State and does not cover external aspects. It does not concern negotiations within international organisations on trade in services, in particular in the framework of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).</p>
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<p class="normal">(17)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive covers only services which are performed for an economic consideration. Services of general interest are not covered by the definition in Article 50 of the Treaty and therefore do not fall within the scope of this Directive. Services of general economic interest are services that are performed for an economic consideration and therefore do fall within the scope of this Directive. However, certain services of general economic interest, such as those that may exist in the field of transport, are excluded from the scope of this Directive and certain other services of general economic interest, for example, those that may exist in the area of postal services, are the subject of a derogation from the provision on the freedom to provide services set out in this Directive. This Directive does not deal with the funding of services of general economic interest and does not apply to systems of aids granted by Member States, in particular in the social field, in accordance with Community rules on competition. This Directive does not deal with the follow-up to the Commission White Paper on Services of General Interest.</p>
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<p class="normal">(18)</p>
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<p class="normal">Financial services should be excluded from the scope of this Directive since these activities are the subject of specific Community legislation aimed, as is this Directive, at achieving a genuine internal market for services. Consequently, t his exclusion should cover all financial services such as banking, credit, insurance, including reinsurance, occupational or personal pensions, securities, investment funds, payments and investment advice, including the services listed in Annex I to Directive 2006/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of credit institutions<a id="ntc4-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0004" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr4-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0004"> (<span class="super">4</span>)</a>.</p>
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<p class="normal">(19)</p>
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<p class="normal">In view of the adoption in 2002 of a package of legislative instruments relating to electronic communications networks and services, as well as to associated resources and services, which has established a regulatory framework facilitating access to those activities within the internal market, notably through the elimination of most individual authorisation schemes, it is necessary to exclude issues dealt with by those instruments from the scope of this Directive.</p>
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<p class="normal">(20)</p>
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<p class="normal">The exclusion from the scope of this Directive as regards matters of electronic communications services as covered by Directives 2002/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on access to, and interconnection of, electronic communications networks and associated facilities (Access Directive)<a id="ntc5-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0005" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr5-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0005"> (<span class="super">5</span>)</a>, 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services (Authorisation Directive)<a id="ntc6-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0006" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr6-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0006"> (<span class="super">6</span>)</a>, 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework Directive)<a id="ntc7-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0007" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr7-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0007"> (<span class="super">7</span>)</a>, 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive)<a id="ntc8-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0008" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr8-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0008"> (<span class="super">8</span>)</a> and 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications)<a id="ntc9-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0009" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr9-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0009"> (<span class="super">9</span>)</a> should apply not only to questions specifically dealt with in these Directives but also to matters for which the Directives explicitly leave to Member States the possibility of adopting certain measures at national level.</p>
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<p class="normal">(21)</p>
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<p class="normal">Transport services, including urban transport, taxis and ambulances as well as port services, should be excluded from the scope of this Directive.</p>
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<p class="normal">(22)</p>
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<p class="normal">The exclusion of healthcare from the scope of this Directive should cover healthcare and pharmaceutical services provided by health professionals to patients to assess, maintain or restore their state of health where those activities are reserved to a regulated health profession in the Member State in which the services are provided.</p>
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<p class="normal">(23)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive does not affect the reimbursement of healthcare provided in a Member State other than that in which the recipient of the care is resident. This issue has been addressed by the Court of Justice on numerous occasions, and the Court has recognised patients' rights. It is important to address this issue in another Community legal instrument in order to achieve greater legal certainty and clarity to the extent that this issue is not already addressed in Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community<a id="ntc10-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0010" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr10-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0010"> (<span class="super">10</span>)</a>.</p>
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<p class="normal">(24)</p>
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<p class="normal">Audiovisual services, whatever their mode of transmission, including within cinemas, should also be excluded from the scope of this Directive. Furthermore, this Directive should not apply to aids granted by Member States in the audiovisual sector which are covered by Community rules on competition.</p>
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<p class="normal">Gambling activities, including lottery and betting transactions, should be excluded from the scope of this Directive in view of the specific nature of these activities, which entail implementation by Member States of policies relating to public policy and consumer protection.</p>
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<p class="normal">(26)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive is without prejudice to the application of Article 45 of the Treaty.</p>
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<p class="normal">(27)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive should not cover those social services in the areas of housing, childcare and support to families and persons in need which are provided by the State at national, regional or local level by providers m andated by the State or by charities recognised as such by the State with the objective of ensuring support for those who are permanently or temporarily in a particular state of need because of their insufficient family income or total or partial lack of independence and for those who risk being marginalised. These services are essential in order to guarantee the fundamental right to human dignity and integrity and are a manifestation of the principles of social cohesion and solidarity and should not be affected by this Directive.</p>
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<p class="normal">(28)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive does not deal with the funding of, or the system of aids linked to, social services. Nor does it affect the criteria or conditions set by Member States to ensure that social services effectively carry out a function to the benefit of the public interest and social cohesion. In addition, this Directive should not affect the principle of universal service in Member States' social services.</p>
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<p class="normal">Given that the Treaty provides specific legal bases for taxation matters and given the Community instruments already adopted in that field, it is necessary to exclude the field of taxation from the scope of this Directive.</p>
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<p class="normal">(30)</p>
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<p class="normal">There is already a considerable body of Community law on service activities. This Directive builds on, and thus complements, the Community acquis. Conflicts between this Directive and other Community instruments have been identified and are addressed by this Directive, including by means of derogations. However, it is necessary to provide a rule for any residual and exceptional cases where there is a conflict between a provision of this Directive and a provision of another Community instrument. The existence of such a conflict should be determined in compliance with the rules of the Treaty on the right of establishment and the free movement of services.</p>
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<p class="normal">(31)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive is consistent with and does not affect Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications<a id="ntc11-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0011" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr11-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0011"> (<span class="super">11</span>)</a>. It deals with questions other than those relating to professional qualifications, for example professional liability insurance, commercial communications, multidisciplinary activities and administrative simplification. With regard to temporary cross-border service provision, a derogation from the provision on the freedom to provide services in this Directive ensures that Title II on the free provision of services of Directive 2005/36/EC is not affected. Therefore, none of the measures applicable under that Directive in the Member State where the service is provided is affected by the provision on the freedom to provide services.</p>
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<p class="normal">(32)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive is consistent with Community legislation on consumer protection, such as Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market (the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive)<a id="ntc12-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0012" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr12-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0012"> (<span class="super">12</span>)</a> and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws (the Regulation on consumer protection cooperation)<a id="ntc13-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0013" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr13-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0013"> (<span class="super">13</span>)</a>.</p>
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<p class="normal">(33)</p>
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<p class="normal">The services covered by this Directive concern a wide variety of ever-changing activities, including business services such as management consultancy, certification and testing; facilities management, including office maintenance; advertising; recruitment services; and the services of commercial agents. The services covered are also services provided both to businesses and to consumers, such as legal or fiscal advice; real estate services such as estate agencies; construction, including the services of architects; distributive trades; the organisation of trade fairs; car rental; and travel agencies. Consumer services are also covered, such as those in the field of tourism, including tour guides; leisure services, sports centres and amusement parks; and, to the extent that they are not excluded from the scope of application of the Directive, household support services, such as help for the elderly. Those activities may involve services requiring the proximity of provider and recipient, services requiring travel by the recipient or the provider and services which may be provided at a distance, including via the Internet.</p>
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<p class="normal">(34)</p>
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<p class="normal">According to the case-law of the Court of Justice, the assessment of whether certain activities, in particular activities which are publicly funded or provided by public entities, constitute a ‘service’ has to be carried out on a case by case basis in the light of all their characteristics, in particular the way they are provided, organised and financed in the Member State concerned. The Court of Justice has held that the essential characteristic of remuneration lies in the fact that it constitutes consideration for the services in question and has recognised that the characteristic of remuneration is absent in the case of activities performed, for no consideration, by the State or on behalf of the State in the context of its duties in the social, cultural, educational and judicial fields, such as courses provided under the national education system, or the management of social security schemes which do not engage in economic activity. The payment of a fee by recipients, for example, a tuition or enrolment fee paid by students in order to make a certain contribution to the operating expenses of a system, does not in itself constitute remuneration because the service is still essentially financed by public funds. These activities are, therefore, not covered by the definition of service in Article 50 of the Treaty and do not therefore fall within the scope of this Directive.</p>
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<p class="normal">(35)</p>
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<p class="normal">Non-profit making amateur sporting activities are of considerable social importance. They often pursue wholly social or recreational objectives. Thus, they might not constitute economic activities within the meaning of Community law and should fall outside the scope of this Directive.</p>
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<p class="normal">(36)</p>
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<p class="normal">The concept of ‘provider’ should cover any natural person who is a national of a Member State or any legal person engaged in a service activity in a Member State, in exercise either of the freedom of establishment or of the free movement of services. The concept of provider should thus not be limited solely to cross-border service provision within the framework of the free movement of services but should also cover cases in which an operator establishes itself in a Member State in order to develop its service activities there. On the other hand, the concept of a provider should not cover the case of branches in a Member State of companies from third countries because, under Article 48 of the Treaty, the freedom of establishment and free movement of services may benefit only companies constituted in accordance with the laws of a Member State and having their registered office, central administration or principal place of business within the Community. The concept of ‘recipient’ should also cover third country nationals who already benefit from rights conferred upon them by Community acts such as Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71, Council Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents<a id="ntc14-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0014" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr14-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0014"> (<span class="super">14</span>)</a>, Council Regulation (EC) No 859/2003 of 14 May 2003 extending the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 to nationals of third countries who are not already covered by those provisions solely on the ground of their nationality<a id="ntc15-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0015" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr15-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0015"> (<span class="super">15</span>)</a> and Directive 2004/38/ECof the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States<a id="ntc16-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0016" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr16-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0016"> (<span class="super">16</span>)</a>. Furthermore, Member States may extend the concept of recipient to other third country nationals that are present within their territory.</p>
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<p class="normal">(37)</p>
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<p class="normal">The place at which a provider is established should be determined in accordance with the case law of the Court of Justice according to which the concept of establishment involves the actual pursuit of an economic activity through a fixed establishment for an indefinite period. This requirement may also be fulfilled where a company is constituted for a given period or where it rents the building or installation through which it pursues its activity. It may also be fulfilled where a Member State grants authorisations for a limited duration only in relation to particular services. An establishment does not need to take the form of a subsidiary, branch or agency, but may consist of an office managed by a provider's own staff or by a person who is independent but authorised to act on a permanent basis for the undertaking, as would be the case with an agency. According to this definition, which requires the actual pursuit of an economic activity at the place of establishment of the provider, a mere letter box does not constitute an establishment. Where a provider has several places of establishment, it is important to determine the place of establishment from which the actual service concerned is provided. Where it is difficult to determine from which of several places of establishment a given service is provided, the location of the provider's centre of activities relating to this particular service should be that place of establishment.</p>
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<p class="normal">(38)</p>
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<p class="normal">The concept of ‘legal persons’, according to the Treaty provisions on establishment, leaves operators free to choose the legal form which they deem suitable for carrying out their activity. Accordingly, ‘legal persons’, within the meaning of the Treaty, means all entities constituted under, or governed by, the law of a Member State, irrespective of their legal form.</p>
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<p class="normal">(39)</p>
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<p class="normal">The concept of ‘authorisation scheme’ should cover, inter alia, the administrative procedures for granting authorisations, licences, approvals or concessions, and also the obligation, in order to be eligible to exercise the activity, to be registered as a member of a profession or entered in a register, roll or database, to be officially appointed to a body or to obtain a card attesting to membership of a particular profession. Authorisation may be granted not only by a formal decision but also by an implicit decision arising, for example, from the silence of the competent authority or from the fact that the interested party must await acknowledgement of receipt of a declaration in order to commence the activity in question or for the latter to become lawful.</p>
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<p class="normal">(40)</p>
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<p class="normal">The concept of ‘overriding reasons relating to the public interest’ to which reference is made in certain provisions of this Directive has been developed by the Court of Justice in its case law in relation to Articles 43 and 49 of the Treaty and may continue to evolve. The notion as recognised in the case law of the Court of Justice covers at least the following grounds: public policy, public security and public health, within the meaning of Articles 46 and 55 of the Treaty; the maintenance of order in society; social policy objectives; the protection of the recipients of services; consumer protection; the protection of workers, including the social protection of workers; animal welfare; the preservation of the financial balance of the social security system; the prevention of fraud; the prevention of unfair competition; the protection of the environment and the urban environment, including town and country planning; the protection of creditors; safeguarding the sound administration of justice; road safety; the protection of intellectual property; cultural policy objectives, including safeguarding the freedom of expression of various elements, in particular social, cultural, religious and philosophical values of society; the need to ensure a high level of education, the maintenance of press diversity and the promotion of the national language; the preservation of national historical and artistic heritage; and veterinary policy.</p>
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<p class="normal">(41)</p>
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<p class="normal">The concept of ‘public policy’, as interpreted by the Court of Justice, covers the protection against a genuine and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society and may include, in particular, issues relating to human dignity, the protection of minors and vulnerable adults and animal welfare. Similarly, the concept of public security includes issues of public safety.</p>
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<p class="normal">(42)</p>
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<p class="normal">The rules relating to administrative procedures should not aim at harmonising administrative procedures but at removing overly burdensome authorisation schemes, procedures and formalities that hinder the freedom of establishment and the creation of new service undertakings therefrom.</p>
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<p class="normal">(43)</p>
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<p class="normal">One of the fundamental difficulties faced, in particular by SMEs, in accessing service activities and exercising them is the complexity, length and legal uncertainty of administrative procedures. For this reason, following the example of certain modernising and good administrative practice initiatives undertaken at Community and national level, it is necessary to establish principles of administrative simplification, inter alia through the limitation of the obligation of prior authorisation to cases in which it is essential and the introduction of the principle of tacit authorisation by the competent authorities after a certain period of time elapsed. Such modernising action, while maintaining the requirements on transparency and the updating of information relating to operators, is intended to eliminate the delays, costs and dissuasive effects which arise, for example, from unnecessary or excessively complex and burdensome procedures, the duplication of procedures, the ‘red tape’ involved in submitting documents, the arbitrary use of powers by the competent authorities, indeterminate or excessively long periods before a response is given, the limited duration of validity of authorisations granted and disproportionate fees and penalties. Such practices have particularly significant dissuasive effects on providers wishing to develop their activities in other Member States and require coordinated modernisation within an enlarged internal market of twenty-five Member States.</p>
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<p class="normal">(44)</p>
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<p class="normal">Member States should introduce, where appropriate, forms harmonised at Community level, as established by the Commission, which will serve as an equivalent to certificates, attestations or any other document in relation to establishment.</p>
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<p class="normal">(45)</p>
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<p class="normal">In order to examine the need for simplifying procedures and formalities, Member States should be able, in particular, to take into account their necessity, number, possible duplication, cost, clarity and accessibility, as well as the delay and practical difficulties to which they could give rise for the provider concerned.</p>
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<p class="normal">(46)</p>
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<p class="normal">In order to facilitate access to service activities and the exercise thereof in the internal market, it is necessary to establish an objective, common to all Member States, of administrative simplification and to lay down provisions concerning, inter alia, the right to information, procedures by electronic means and the establishment of a framework for authorisation schemes. Other measures adopted at national level to meet that objective could involve reduction of the number of procedures and formalities applicable to service activities and the restriction of such procedures and formalities to those which are essential in order to achieve a general interest objective and which do not duplicate each other in terms of content or purpose.</p>
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<p class="normal">(47)</p>
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<p class="normal">With the aim of administrative simplification, general formal requirements, such as presentation of original documents, certified copies or a certified translation, should not be imposed, except where objectively justified by an overriding reason relating to the public interest, such as the protection of workers, public health, the protection of the environment or the protection of consumers. It is also necessary to ensure that an authorisation as a general rule permits access to, or exercise of, a service activity throughout the national territory, unless a new authorisation for each establishment, for example for each new hypermarket, or an authorisation that is restricted to a specific part of the national territory is objectively justified by an overriding reason relating to the public interest.</p>
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<p class="normal">(48)</p>
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<p class="normal">In order to further simplify administrative procedures, it is appropriate to ensure that each provider has a single point through which he can complete all procedures and formalities (hereinafter referred to as ‘points of single contact’). The number of points of single contact per Member State may vary according to regional or local competencies or according to the activities concerned. The creation of points of single contact should not interfere with the allocation of functions among competent authorities within each national system. Where several authorities at regional or local level are competent, one of them may assume the role of point of single contact and coordinator. Points of single contact may be set up not only by administrative authorities but also by chambers of commerce or crafts, or by the professional organisations or private bodies to which a Member State decides to entrust that function. Points of single contact have an important role to play in providing assistance to providers either as the authority directly competent to issue the documents necessary to access a service activity or as an intermediary between the provider and the authorities which are directly competent.</p>
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<p class="normal">(49)</p>
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<p class="normal">The fee which may be charged by points of single contact should be proportionate to the cost of the procedures and formalities with which they deal. This should not prevent Member States from entrusting the points of single contact with the collection of other administrative fees, such as the fee of supervisory bodies.</p>
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<p class="normal">(50)</p>
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<p class="normal">It is necessary for providers and recipients of services to have easy access to certain types of information It should be for each Member State to determine, within the framework of this Directive, the way in which providers and recipients are provided with information. In particular, the obligation on Member States to ensure that relevant information is easily accessible to providers and recipients and that it can be accessed by the public without obstacle could be fulfilled by making this information accessible through a website. Any information given should be provided in a clear and unambiguous manner.</p>
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<p class="normal">(51)</p>
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<p class="normal">The information provided to providers and recipients of services should include, in particular, information on procedures and formalities, contact details of the competent authorities, conditions for access to public registers and data bases and information concerning available remedies and the contact details of associations and organisations from which providers or recipients can obtain practical assistance. The obligation on competent authorities to assist providers and recipients should not include the provision of legal advice in individual cases. Nevertheless, general information on the way in which requirements are usually interpreted or applied should be given. Issues such as liability for providing incorrect or misleading information should be determined by Member States.</p>
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<p class="normal">(52)</p>
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<p class="normal">The setting up, in the reasonably near future, of electronic means of completing procedures and formalities will be vital for administrative simplification in the field of service activities, for the benefit of providers, recipients and competent authorities. In order to meet that obligation as to results, national laws and other rules applicable to services may need to be adapted. This obligation should not prevent Member States from providing other means of completing such procedures and formalities, in addition to electronic means. The fact that it must be possible to complete those procedures and formalities at a distance means, in particular, that Member States must ensure that they may be completed across borders. The obligation as to results does not cover procedures or formalities which by their very nature are impossible to complete at a distance. Furthermore, this does not interfere with Member States' legislation on the use of languages.</p>
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<p class="normal">(53)</p>
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<p class="normal">The granting of licences for certain service activities may require an interview with the applicant by the competent authority in order to assess the applicant's personal integrity and suitability for carrying out the service in question. In such cases, the completion of formalities by electronic means may not be appropriate.</p>
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<p class="normal">(54)</p>
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<p class="normal">The possibility of gaining access to a service activity should be made subject to authorisation by the competent authorities only if that decision satisfies the criteria of non-discrimination, necessity and proportionality. That means, in particular, that authorisation schemes should be permissible only where an a posteriori inspection would not be effective because of the impossibility of ascertaining the defects of the services concerned a posteriori, due account being taken of the risks and dangers which could arise in the absence of a prior inspection. However, the provision to that effect made by this Directive cannot be relied upon in order to justify authorisation schemes which are prohibited by other Community instruments such as Directive 1999/93/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 13 December 1999 on a Community framework for electronic signatures<a id="ntc17-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0017" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr17-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0017"> (<span class="super">17</span>)</a>, or Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the internal market (Directive on electronic commerce)<a id="ntc18-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0018" href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123&from=EN#ntr18-L_2006376EN.01003601-E0018"> (<span class="super">18</span>)</a>. The results of the process of mutual evaluation will make it possible to determine, at Community level, the types of activity for which authorisation schemes should be eliminated.</p>
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<p class="normal">(55)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive should be without prejudice to the possibility for Member States to withdraw authorisations after they have been issued, if the conditions for the granting of the authorisation are no longer fulfilled.</p>
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<p class="normal">(56)</p>
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<p class="normal">According to the case law of the Court of Justice, public health, consumer protection, animal health and the protection of the urban environment constitute overriding reasons relating to the public interest. Such overriding reasons may justify the application of authorisation schemes and other restrictions. However, no such authorisation scheme or restriction should discriminate on grounds of nationality. Further, the principles of necessity and proportionality should always be respected.</p>
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<p class="normal">(57)</p>
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<p class="normal">The provisions of this Directive relating to authorisation schemes should concern cases where the access to or exercise of a service activity by operators requires a decision by a competent authority. This concerns neither decisions by competent authorities to set up a public or private entity for the provision of a particular service nor the conclusion of contracts by competent authorities for the provision of a particular service which is governed by rules on public procurement, since this Directive does not deal with rules on public procurement.</p>
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<p class="normal">(58)</p>
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<p class="normal">In order to facilitate access to and exercise of service activities, it is important to evaluate and report on authorisation schemes and their justification. This reporting obligation concerns only the existence of authorisation schemes and not the criteria and conditions for the granting of an authorisation.</p>
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<p class="normal">(59)</p>
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<p class="normal">The authorisation should as a general rule enable the provider to have access to the service activity, or to exercise that activity, throughout the national territory, unless a territorial limit is justified by an overriding reason relating to the public interest. For example, environmental protection may justify the requirement to obtain an individual authorisation for each installation on the national territory. This provision should not affect regional or local competences for the granting of authorisations within the Member States.</p>
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<p class="normal">(60)</p>
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<p class="normal">This Directive, and in particular the provisions concerning authorisation schemes and the territorial scope of an authorisation, should not interfere with the division of regional or local competences within the Member States, including regional and local self-government and the use of official languages.</p>
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<p class="normal">(61)</p>
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<p class="normal">The provision relating to the non-duplication of conditions for the granting of an authorisation should not prevent Member States from applying their own conditions as specified in the authorisation scheme. It should only require that competent authorities, when considering whether these conditions are met by the applicant, take into account the equivalent conditions which have already been satisfied by the applicant in another Member State. This provision should not require the application of the conditions for the granting of an authorisation provided for in the authorisation scheme of another Member State.</p>
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<p class="normal">(62)</p>
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<p class="normal">Where the number of authorisations available for an activity is limited because of scarcity of natural resources or technical capacity, a procedure for selection from among several potential candidates should be adopted with the aim of developing through open competition the quality and conditions for supply of services available to users. Such a procedure should provide guarantees of transparency and impartiality and the authorisation thus granted should not have an excessive duration, be subject to automatic renewal or confer any advantage on the provider whose authorisation has just expired. In particular, the duration of the authorisation granted should be fixed in such a way that it does not restrict or limit free competition beyond what is necessary in order to enable the provider to recoup the cost of investment and to make a fair return on the capital invested. This provision should not prevent Member States from limiting the number of authorisations for reasons other than scarcity of natural resources or technical capacity. These authorisationsshould remain in any case subject to the other provisions of this Directive relating to authorisation schemes.</p>
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<p class="normal">(63)</p>
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<p class="normal">In the absence of different arrangements, failing a response within a time period, an authorisation should be deemed to have been granted. However, different arrangements may be put in place in respect of certain activities, where objectively justified by overriding reasons relating to the public interest, including a legitimate interest of third parties. Such different arrangements could include national rules according to which, in the absence of a response of the competent authority, the application is deemed to have been rejected, this rejection being open to challenge before the courts.</p>
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<p class="normal">(64)</p>
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<p class="normal">In order to establish a genuine internal market for services, it is necessary to abolish any restrictions on the freedom of establishment and the free movement of services which are still enshrined in the laws of certain Member States and which are incompatible with Articles 43 and 49 of the Treaty respectively. The restrictions to be prohibited particularly affect the internal market for services and should be systematically dismantled as soon as possible.</p>
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<p class="normal">(65)</p>
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<p class="normal">Freedom of establishment is predicated, in particular, upon the principle of equal treatment, which entails the prohibition not only of any discrimination on grounds of nationality but also of any indirect discrimination based on other grounds but capable of producing the same result. Thus, access to a service activity or the exercise thereof in a Member State, either as a principal or secondary activity, should not be made subject to criteria such as place of establishment, residence, domicile or principal provision of the service activity. However, these criteria should not include requirements according to which a provider or one of his employees or a representative must be present during the exercise of the activity when this is justified by an overriding reason relating to the public interest. Furthermore, a Member State should not restrict the legal capacity or the right of companies, incorporated in accordance with the law of another Member State on whose territory they have their primary establishment, to bring legal proceedings. Moreover, a Member State should not be able to confer any advantages on providers having a particular national or local socio-economic link; nor should it be able to restrict, on grounds of place of establishment, the provider's freedom to acquire, exploit or dispose of rights and goods or to access different forms of credit or accommodation in so far as those choices are useful for access to his activity or for the effective exercise thereof.</p>
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<p class="normal">(66)</p>
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<p class="normal">Access to or the exercise of a service activity in the territory of a Member State should not be subject to an economic test. The prohibition of economic tests as a prerequisite for the grant of authorisation should cover economic tests as such, but not requirements which are objectively justified by overriding reasons relating to the public interest, such as the protection of the urban environment, social policy or public health. The prohibition should not affect the exercise of the powers of the authorities responsible for applying competition law.</p>
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<p class="normal">(67)</p>
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<p class="normal">With respect to financial guarantees or insurance, the prohibition of requirements should concern only the obligation that the requested financial guarantees or insurance must be obtained from a financial institution established in the Member State concerned.</p>
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<p class="normal">(68)</p>
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<p class="normal">With respect to pre-registration, the prohibition of requirements should concern only the obligation that the provider, prior to the establishment, be pre-registered for a given period in a register held in the Member State concerned.</p>
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