WRITTEN QUESTION E-2615/96 by Edward Kellett-Bowman (PPE) to the Commission (14 October 1996)

Subject: Legal status of tour couriers in the EU

Is the Commission aware that tour managers, or couriers, employed by tour operators organizing closed, multi-country group tours of Europe, who stay with their group from beginning to end, giving assistance and information about the countries they are visiting, are being harassed and sometimes arrested for doing their jobs?

In larger cities and during stop-overs they hand over the group to a local tour guide; in smaller cities or during stop-overs the courier himself gives the tourists a basic explanation.

However, in Austria, Italy and France, these couriers are pulled over and occasionally arrested and charged with doing the job of a licenced local guide.

What does the Commission intend to do to ensure that tour managers/couriers are no longer harassed by the police and allowed to do their jobs?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (18 November 1996)

It is not clear from the question whether the Honourable Member is referring to obstacles encountered by couriers or by tourist guides. It should be remembered that these are complementary but different professions.

The pursuit of courier activities is governed by Directive 75/368/EEC ((Council Directive of 16 June 1975 - OJ L 167, 30.6.1975. )), pursuant to which these activities can be carried out in a Member State even if the person in question does not have the professional qualifications required there. Under the Directive, the host Member State is obliged to recognize professional experience acquired in another Member State and evidenced by a certificate issued by a competent authority in the Member State from which the person in question comes. However, in cases of temporary provision of services, the Directive must be interpreted with appropriate flexibility in view of the temporary nature of the activity. The Commission is currently looking into the situation in Italy and has contacted the Italian authorities in this connection. It is prepared to examine any complaints concerning unjustified obstacles. It should be noted that tourist guides are expressly excluded from the scope of Directive 75/368/EEC.

In its judgments on tourist guides ((Judgments of 26.2.1991 Case C-154/89 France [1991] ECR I-659 and Case C-180/89 Italy [1991] ECR I-709. )), the Court of Justice has stated that freedom to provide services is incompatible with a requirement that tourist guides travelling with a closed group of tourists from another Member State hold a professional card, authorization or 'national' licence where those services consist in guiding such tourists in places other than museums or historical monuments which may be visited only with a specialized professional guide. That being said, a document showing that the interested party is a 'tourist guide' in the Member State from which he comes may be useful in establishing that he is covered by the case-law in question.

The Commission is familiar with the matter raised by the Honourable Member. It keeps in touch on a regular basis with the relevant professional associations (tourist guides, couriers, tour-operators). It has also instituted infringement procedures against France and Italy pursuant to Article 171 of the EC Treaty. It notes that current legislative developments in those Member States are favourable, as reflected by the adoption of new provisions implementing the 'tourist guide' judgments. The Commission is currently examining Austrian legislation and will take action under the Treaty if appropriate.

The Commission will also maintain contacts with the Member States and the professional associations concerned with a view to finding a practical solution to problems involving freedom of movement for these professional categories.

The Commission would remind the Honourable Member that the direct effect of Article 59 of the EC Treaty (freedom to provide services) is to confer rights on individuals which the national authorities must respect and which these individuals can invoke even before new national laws are adopted in this area. Accordingly,

guides can contact the national authorities if they encounter problems in pursuing their profession, it being understood that their freedom to provide services is limited by virtue of the aforementioned exception concerning museums or historical monuments.