Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2013:561
Date: 2013-09-12
Language of the case: Greek
Subject matter: Right of establishment;Freedom to provide services;Free movement of workers
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Greece

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 17 October 2013 1. Freedom of movement for persons — Freedom of establishment — Freedom to provide services — Insurance mediation — Directive 2002/92 — Employee of an insurance undertaking who does not possess the qualifications required pursuing, on an incidental basis and not as his main professional activity, the activity of insurance mediation — Not permissible (European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/92, Arts 2(3), second subpara., and 4(1)) 2. Freedom of movement for persons — Freedom of establishment — Freedom to provide services — Insurance mediation — Directive 2002/92 — Interpretation permitting a certain category of persons to offer mediation services even though they do not meet competence requirements — Not permissible (European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/92) 1. The second subparagraph of Article 2(3), in conjunction with Article 4(1), of Directive 2002/92 on insurance mediation must be interpreted as precluding an employee of an insurance undertaking who does not possess the qualifications required under the latter provision from pursuing — on an incidental basis and not as his main professional activity — the activity of insurance mediation where such an employee does not act as a subordinate of that undertaking, even though the latter in any event supervises that person’s activities. Where the employee of an insurance undertaking pursues insurance mediation activities independently of the relationship of subordination by which he is bound to the undertaking, he should not, in principle, be regarded as acting under the responsibility of that undertaking and should therefore be regarded as acting in a personal capacity as an insurance intermediary within the meaning of Article 2(5) of Directive 2002/92 and, as a consequence, he must meet the requirements laid down in Article 4 of the directive. The fact that the insurance undertaking supervises the intermediary’s activities is not sufficient to exempt such a person from the obligation to meet the professional requirements laid down in the directive. (see paras 24, 32, operative part) 2. Directive 2002/92 on insurance mediation pursues a dual objective, namely, on the one hand, the completion and proper functioning of the single market in insurance by removing obstacles to freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services and, on the other, the enhancement of consumer protection in this field. Any interpretation which permits a certain category of persons to offer mediation services even though such persons do not meet the requirements laid down by Article 4(1) of Directive 2002/92 for the provision of such services would undermine that dual purpose. First, such an interpretation of Directive 2002/92 would give rise to significant differences between intermediaries acting on the single market in insurance, since intermediaries could engage in mediation activities for the same types of contract irrespective of whether or not they met those requirements. Furthermore, that interpretation runs counter to the objective of ensuring equal treatment of all categories of insurance intermediaries. Second, it would not be possible on the basis of such an interpretation to ensure a high level of protection for consumers on the insurance market, namely insurance policyholders. The employees of an insurance undertaking who are engaged in the direct sale of insurance services within that undertaking cannot, in any event, be regarded as possessing the appropriate knowledge and skills required for pursing, on an individual basis, the activity of insurance mediation and thus as being able to guarantee the quality of such mediation services. Nor can it be assumed that, in the absence of such knowledge and skills, such employees will be able to provide their customers with the information set out in Article 12 of Directive 2002/92 when concluding, amending or renewing customers’ insurance contacts. (see paras 27-30)