Communication from the Commission - Legislate less to act better : the facts
Date: 1998-05-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU statistics, access to EU information, administrative formalities, consolidation of EU law, legal data processing

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 27.05.1998 
COM(1998) 345  final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 

LEGISLATE LESS TO ACT BETTER: 
THE FACTS 

LEGISLATE  LESS TO AC  I  BE IT ER: IHE  FACTS 

I) 

Legislate  less  to act  better",  the  motto of  the  present  Commission 

What  is meant  by  'legislate  less to act  better"? 

applies 

the  Commission 
targets  its  initiatives,  concentrating  on 
-  Legislate  less 
Its ambitious  proposals  have been  the  driving  force  behind 
political  priorities 
In  performing  its  role 
the  recent  major  developments  in  the  European  Union 
the  Commission 
and 
subsidiarity 
proportionality,  it  is  producing  fewer  proposals  overall  and  proposals  for  new 
legislation 
At  the  same  time  the  number  of  Community 
instruments  in  force  is increasing only  slightly, 
-  Act  better 
accessible  legislation 
different  way,  in order  to be more efficient  in  its role  in a changing  Europe. 

improved  consultation  procedures,  clearer,  simpler  and  more 
this  also  means  acting  in  a 

For  the  Commission 

the  principles  of 

in  particular 

strictly 

TOTAL  COMMISSION 
PROPOSALS 1 

COMMISSION PROPOSALS 
FOR NEW LEGISLATION 

800 

700 

600 

500 

400 

300 

200 

100 

0 

il 

H 

u 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

m 

o 

1^ 

What  is the  purpose7 

-  To  enhance  Europe's  image  in  the  eyes  of  the  public,  to  improve  the 
operation  of  the  single  market,  to  strengthen  the  competitiveness  of  firms,  to 
manage  the  European  Union  on  a sounder  basis 

2) 

Subsidiarity/proportionality 

a)  Results 

The  Commission  can  be  said  to  have  achieved  something  in  the  application  of  the 
principles  of  subsidiarity  and  proportionality  since  the  Edinburgh  European  Council. 
These  achievements  went  far  beyond  simply  reducing  the  number  of  proposals;  the 
following  should  also  be borne  in  mind 

As well  as  proposals  for  new  legislation.  Commission  proposals also  cover  implementing 
measures,  eonlimtation  of  action  already  started,  revision  of  existing  legislation  and 
matters concerning  international  relations 
I 

such 
with 

-  use  of  all  kinds  of  alternatives 
legislation, 
negotiated 
regulation 
social 
protocol  ), 

(agreements  between 
under 

to 
agreements 
self-
the 
social 

as 
industry, 

partners 

the 

each 
-  review  of  pending  proposals 
longer 
year  proposals  which  are  no 
this 
necessary  are  withdrawn, 
includes 
the  grounds  of 
subsidiarity  (61  m  I W S,  48  in  1996 
and  34  in  1997), 

some  on 

and 

APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 3b 

AFTER 
Protocol 
subsidiarity 
Treaty itt  tfj^ 
Mainasp^$:r 

tbe Amstcwto Tr««t>', 

- use of framework  directives rather than  more detailed directives, 

-  improvement  of  impact  assessment  criteria  for  ils  proposals  eg 
the  Auto-oil 
package  With  the  start  this  year  of  the  pilot  phase  of  the  lùiropean  business  test 
panel,  it  will  be  possible  to  assess  the  cost  and  administrative  consequences  for 
businesses, in particular small  businesses, of new legislation proposed; 

- wide-ranging and open  dialogue with  interested  parties, in particular  industry, social 
partners, government  departments,  so  that  all  views  can  be taken  into account.  This 
can  be  done  either  informally  (meetings,  discussion  forums,  conferences)  or  more 
formally  in  the  shape  of  green  and  white  papers  which  are  being  targeted  more 
carefully  and made more uniform,  or in advisory committees. 

20 

15 

10 

b 

0 

NUMBER OF GREEN AND 
WHITE PAPERS 

m ( hvon  papers  ! 
i 
Q  While  papers ! 

•* 
o 
(T) 

in 
r-~ 
(o 
5?  Q>  5> 
o>  O)  O) 

Six agreements (on the environment  and  energy) arc currently being negotiated and will be 
finalised  shortly:  reduction  of  CO,  emissions  for  private  cars,  energy  efficiency  for 
television  sets,  washing  machines,  reduction  ol  the  environmental  impact  of  household 
detergents,  monitoring  of  perfluoro-carbons.  development  of  paper  recycling,  reduction  of 
hazards associated  with  the use of stripping, agents 
There  have  been  two  agreements  of  this  type,  one  on  parental  leave  and  the  other  on 
part-time  work  The  first  was  enshrined  in  Directive  96/34/RC.  and  the  second  in 
Directive 87/»I/l'C 
This  is a package  of  measures on  emission  reduction,  which,  following  consultations  with 
the  firms  concerned,  constitutes  the  best  cost-effectiveness  relationship  for  achieving 
certain air-quality objectives  (COM(96) 21», transmitted  on 29 August  1996). 
Commission  communication  Ihe  business  test  panel:  a  pilot  project  COM(1998) 197, 
transmitted on  M)  March  199». 
For example, some 20 000 non-government  experts attend  meetings with the Commission 
every year 

> 

h)  Outlook 

It  is currently  amending  its (ienemlguidelines 

The  Commission  is determined  to give  effect  to  the  Protocol  on  the  application  of  the 
principles  of  subsidiarity  and  proportionality  even  before  the  Amsterdam  Treaty  is 
for  legislative  policy  and  will, 
ratified 
in 
impact 
assessments  are  complied  with  At  the  same  time  the  Commission  would  urge  the 
other 
to  the  principles  of  subsidiarity  and 
proportionality,  as already  provided  in the  1903 Interinstitutional  Agreement 

the  provisions  governing 

this  connection,  ensure 

to  pay  more  attention 

in  particular 

institutions 

that 

3)  Drafting  quality 

Community  legislation  needs  to  be  worded 
clearly,  consistently  and  unambiguously, 
following  uniform  principles  of  presentation 
and  legal  drafting,  so  that  it  will  be  easier  to 
implement  by  national  authorities  and  easier 
to  understand  for  economic  operators  and 
the general  public  This  is  made  all  the  more 
the  multilingual  nature  of 
important  by 
Community 
the 
(each 
Commission  has  to  have  over  M)  000  pages 
eleven  Community 
the 
translated 
languages)  which  can  cause  differences 
in 
interpretation 

legislation 

year 

into 

a)  Achievements 

In  recent  years  the three  institutions  have each  adopted  measures of  their own  These 
measures  have  not  yet  achieved  the desired  objectives 

b)  Outlook 

RfTorts  need  to be  coordinated  This  was  why  Declaration  No  .19 annexed  lo the  final 
acl  of  the  Amsterdam  Treaty  called  on  the  institutions  lo  lay  down  guidelines  on  the 
those  guidelines  in  the  various  stages  oi% the 
quality  of  drafting  and  lo  follow 
The  legal  services  oi'  the  three  institutions  are  working 
decision-making  process 
together  and  before 
The 
recess  will  produce  draft  guidelines 
Commission  attaches  a great  deal  of  importance  to this  objective 

the  summer 

In  1996  the  Commission  adopted  the  iieneral  guidelines  for  legislative  policy  (Bull. 
1/2-1996. point  I  10  II)  and  in  1997  it  updated  its  Legislative  drafting  manual  to  guide 
Commission  departments  when  drafting  legal  instruments.  The  Council  adopted  a 
resolution  on  X June  1993 on  the  quality  of  drafting  of  Community  legislation  (OJ C  166, 
17.6.1993).  Parliament  set  up  a  group  of  lawyer-revisers  in  1997  to  check  the  drafting 
quality of instruments covered  by the codecision procedure. 

3 

4)  Simplification 

The Community  system  is by  nature complex,  if  only  because of  the differences  in 
legal  culture  and  the  technicality  of  the  matters  dealt  with.  Simplification  does, 
however, remain an objective to be aimed for 

a) Achievements 

simplification 

The  most  spectacular  result  in 
terms  of 
has 
already  been  achieved  by  the 
establishment 
single 
of 
market,  with  the  replacement  of 
individual  and 
a  great  many 
occasionally  conflicting  national 
measures 

the 

SiMPLifTCATHQHMBASMffiS Wm  SfflÇSIUE 
EDiNBVRQw mmm 

rn^rnt 

Specific Comm, 
instruments 

But  Community  legislation  can,  in  its turn,  be slimmed  down  The Commission  has 
proposed  the simplification  of  entire  rafts  of  Community  legislation,  with  a  total  of 
61 proposals at  I March 

Some large-scale initiatives have a knock-on effect  in terms of simplification 

However,  22  of  these  proposals  still  have  to  be  adopted  by  the  Council  and 
Parliament  The  SLIM  pilot  project  (simplifying  legislation  relating  to  the  internal 
market),  which  is  based  on  the  work  of  groups  made  up  of  representatives  of  the 
Member  States,  users  of  the  legislation  (firms,  consumers)  and  Commission 
departments,  is  now  producing  concrete  results:  four  simplification  proposals  have 
been  presented  under  the  first  phase  (two  concerning  statistics,8  one  ornamental 
plants  and one recognition of qualifications  ) 

PHASE I; 
lntxastat, construction products, recoj 
qualifications» ornamental plan»; 

, 

,:., 

FHMBH? 
VAT,  combine 
trade, banking 

nomenclature 
ices, fertilisers; 

PHASmiL 
electromagnetic compatibility, 
social security schemes, insurance. 

COM  (97)  275  mid  COM  (97)  252  transmitted  on  4 June  1997  and  2 June  1997 
respectively 
COM (97) 708 transmitted on  17 December  1997 
COM (97) 618 transmitted  on 3 December  1997 

4 

In  connection  with  the  implementation  of  Agenda 2000  in  agriculture,  a  number  of 
simplification  proposals were presented  last March. 

b) Outlook 

In  1998  the  Commission  will  be  presenting  proposals  under  the  second  phase  of 
SLIM  to  follow  up  the  recommendations  made  by  the  working  parties 
It  has 
extended  the  SLIM  initiative  to  electromagnetic  compatibility,  the  coordination  of 
social  security  schemes  and  insurance  (third  phase),  and  a  fourth  phase  will  start  in 
the first half of  1998  But  the SLIM  proposals still  need  to be adopted by Parliament 
and  the  Council  in  this  connection  recent  experience  has  shown  that  the  desire  to 
simplify,  repeatedly  expressed  by European  Ministers, is sometimes at odds with their 
attitude  to  simplification  proposals  on  the  table  For  example,  the  solution  found  in 

17 
the Council  (internal  market) for  the  Inlrastal  proposal 
simplification  objective originally set 

in no way  matched  up to the 

The  Business  Environment  Simplification  Task  Force 
the 
Commission  set  up  to  identify  the  factors  acting  as  a  legislative  or  administrative 
This  highlights  the  need  to 
brake  on  small  businesses  has just  presented  a  report 
persuade  all  levels of  public authorities  to place  the "better  lawmaking" principles at 
the heart  of  their  political  strategy 
It  recommends  that  Member  States  consider  the 
appropriate means of meeting these objectives 

(BF.ST),  which 

SOME BEST RECOMMENDS 

-  simplify  administrative procedures; 
-  féf&fy  best practices; 
-  èet up best regulation|Units; 
- aydlâ "gold plating" o£ Community lcj 
of agonal rules connected with the im 
Cûrçjfflmity directives^ 
-"#û%jc small first"  Û 

The reform  of  the common  agricultural  policy  in  connection  with  Agenda 2000  will 
involve  new  slimming-down  proposals,  in  particular  with  a  view  to  a  radical 
simplification  of  regulations  in  the  vine-growing  sector,  regarded  as  the  most 
voluminous and complicated  of all the agricultural  regulations 

arable 

crops,  beet,  milk 

Concerning 
(COM(l998)  175) 
COM(97) 252  Una I 
Report  of  the  Husiness  Fnvironmcnt  Simplification  Task  Force  (volume  1),  Office  for 
Official  Publications of the Furopean  Communities,  May  1998. 

rural  policies 

(COM(l998) 

158),  and 

5 

5)  Formal  consolidation,  recasting,  informal 
consolidation14 

Formal  consolidation  and  recasting  involve  repealing  earlier  instruments.  Informal 
information  purposes  and  involves  no  change  in 
consolidation  is  purely  for 
Community law. 

a) Achievements 

The Commission  is continuing to present formal  consolidation proposals despite the 
difficulties  which  exist  (number  of  languages,  legislation  constantly  changing). 
However, adoption by the Council and Parliament is not advancing at the same pace. 

FORMAL CONSOLIDATION 
WORK SINCE DECEMBER 1992 
(situation at 15.03.1998) 

INFORMAL CONSOLIDATION 
WORK 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

I Formal consolidation in pipeline (1998-2000) 

1995 

1996 

1997 

I Ftoposals before Fferliament and the Council 

I Informal consolidation completed 

J 

Jan-
April 
1998 

l Formal consolidation instruments adopted by the 
legislative autority 

I Number of  instruments involved : basic 
instruments  & amendments 

In parallel  with the task of formal  consolidation, the Commission  is still involved in 
its  informal  consolidation  exercise  in  order  to  meet  specific  requirements  of 
operators  and  all  users  of  Community  law.  From  1995  to  March  1998  over 
384 informal  consolidation  exercises have been completed, involving the merging of 
some  2 800  instruments,  each  in  nine  or  eleven  language  versions.  Most  of  these 
15  via  the 
texts  are  gradually  being  made  accessible  free  of  charge  on  the  Internet, 
European Union's Europa server. 

b) Outlook 

intends 

The  Commission 
to  continue  the  progress  already  made  in  formal 
consolidation  and  has  already  identified  the  sectors  where  a  special  effort  will  be 
It  would  also  like  to  see  early  agreement 
required  over  the  period  1998-2000. 
between  the  institutions  on  recasting,  a  method  which  ensures  constant  clarity  of 
legislation.  It remains determined to keep up the pace of informal  consolidation. 

See  definitions  in  the  Better  Lawmaking  1997  report,  COM(97)626  transmitted  on 
26 November 1997 
http://europa.eu.int 

6 

6) Access to information 

a) Achievements 

The  Commission  is  aware  of  the  immense  potential  offered  by  new  technology  to 
facilitate  access  to  information  and  will  do  its  utmost  to  make  full  use  of  this 
technology.  Europa,16  the joint  server  of  the  European  institutions,  already  offers 
access to a wide range of legal instruments and  information. 

NUMBER OF CONSULTATIONS ON THE 
EUROPA SERVER 

30000000 

25000000 

20000000 

15000000 

10000000 

5000000 

S 
°? 
C 

-» 

fc; 
°? 
-Q 

LL 

N 
S 
°[>  O) 
»!-
i 

2 

< 

O) 
3 
-> 

O) 
c 
—> 

at 
< 

(0 
2 

a. 
a> 

O) 

O 

cr> 
> 
o 
z 

q> 

« 

3  SS 

For  example,  it  is  now  possible  to  consult  recent judgments  of  the  Court  of  Justice 
and Community  legislation  in force (C and L Series of the Official  Journal) via EUR-
Lex  The Citizens First  campaign  informs  the public  about their  rights,  in  particular 
within the single market. 

These  initiatives  are  an  undoubted  success,  as  can  be  shown  by  the  increase  in  the 
number  of  calls  on  the  Europa  server. 
In  the  first  week  after  the  Commission's 
recommendation  on  the  list  of  countries  qualifying  for  EMU  and  its  convergence 
report  (25 March  1998)  were  made  available  on  the  Internet,  the  documents  were 
downloaded over 40 000 times 

b) Outlook 

The Commission  has a host of  new  projects  on the stocks.  In view of the success of 
the Citizens  first  operation,  a permanent  structure  will be set up, via the Internet  and 
freephone  numbers,  to  conduct  a  dialogue  with  the  public  and  businesses  to  inform 
them  of  their  rights.  This  "dialogue"  has just  been  initiated  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  the  action  plan  for  the  single  market. 
In  order  to  improve  the 
information  and  support  service  for  small  businesses, the Euro-Info-Centre  networks 
will  be reinforced:  a freephone  number  is  already  operational  for  this  purpose  in  ail 
the Member States. 

Address above. 

7)  Transposai 

The Commission  spares  no effort  in  seeing  that  legislation  is properly  transposed  in 
the  Member  States  (despatch  of  Article  169  letters  every  two  months,  constant 
contacts with national  authorities).  Although the performances  of individual  Member 
States  differ,  these  efforts  have  produced  a  rise  in  the  percentage  of  directives  for 
which  Member  States  have  informed  the  Commission  of  national  implementing 
measures.  The average figure at 31 December  1997 was 94%. 

AVERAGE RATE OF 
TRANSPOSAL OF DIRECTIVES 

BREAKDOWN BY MEMBER STATE OF THE 
RATE OF TRANSPOSAL OF DIRECTIVES 

100 

99 

98 

97 

96 

95 

94 

93 

92 

91 

c 
= 
1  W 
u- 

"O  F 
£ 
î 
ai 
a> 
Oi  a  E 

a> 
z 

to  E?  "2  «  p  m  »  >*  E 

!i 
<  E 

J  8  § 

- 

"- 

t 
•  £ 

' 

-» 

0 

m 

In the  internal  market,  in particular,  the action  plan for  the single market produced  a 
distinct improvement  in the transposai of directives. 

Internal market : average  rate of 
tranposal of directives following the 
adoption of the action plan for the 
single market (June  1997) 

96,00% 

95,50% 

95,00% 

94,50% 

94,00% 

Jun-97 

May-98 

8) Shared  responsibility 

"Better  lawmaking"  is  one  of  the  keys  to  more  effective  management  of  European 
integration,  to a Europe closer  to the citizen,  and  to a renewed  spirit of  initiative and 
enterprise,  as was  confirmed  by  the  "Better  government,  more  effective  regulation" 
conference organised by the UK Government  last March. 

8 

Substantial  progress  has  already  been  made  by  the  Commission.  The  process  must 
therefore be continued  and stepped up  The other  institutions cannot shirk their share 
of  responsibility.  They  need  to  be  far  more  discriminating  when  they  ask  the 
Commission  to  present  proposals  and  avoid  making  proposals  more  complex.  The 
principles of subsidiarity  and proportionality  and  the need for  simplicity  must  always 
be taken into account.  The following  cases are worth considering: 

- zoos:  acting on  the principle of  subsidiarity  and  at the request  of the Edinburgh 

17 

European Council, the Commission replaced  its proposed directive  by a proposal 
for  a  recommendation 
Parliament  insisted  on  a  directive.  The  Council 
(environment) has again considered the possibility of adopting a directive; 

-  animal  welfare:  at  the request  of  the Council  (agriculture),  the Commission  has 
presented  a number of proposals on animal  welfare.  The Council  has not  confined 
itself  to  the  essential  but  has  expanded  the  arrangements  proposed  by  the 
Commission,  adding  points  for  which  there  is  not  necessarily  any justification  in 
terms  of  subsidiarity  and  proportionality 
(e.g.  minimum  and  maximum 
temperatures  in vehicles carrying animals).19  Similar  additions  are also envisaged 
on the animal welfare  proposals for stock  farming,  where Member  States'  requests 
go far beyond  the Council  of Europe recommendations  on which  the Commission 
based its proposals; 

-  foodstuffs  intended  for  particular  nutritional  uses:  in  accordance  with 
Directive 89/398/EEC, 
the Commission  was  to propose  the  adoption  of  specific 
directives  for  nine categories  of  foodstuff  intended  for  particular  nutritional  uses. 
At the  request  of  the  Edinburgh  European  Council,  the  Commission  proposed  in 
1994  that  the  number  of  directives  be  limited  to  four.21  The  deliberations  of 
Parliament  and the Council  have produced  a return to the nine areas of  legislation 

initially  envisaged, 

22 

' 

-  technical  rules:  the  Council  common  position  on  the  proposal  for  a  third 
amendment of Directive 83/189 contains some far more complex formulas  than the 
initial  proposal:  in  particular  the  Council  has  changed  two  definitions  of  a  few 
lines into a very lengthy text (see Annex). 

19 

22 

C0M(91) 177. 
COM(95)619. 
Council Regulation (EC) No 411/98 on additional animal protection standards applicable 
to road vehicles used  for  the carriage of  livestock  on journeys  exceeding eight hours, 
OJL 52, 21.2.1998. 
OJL 186,30.6.1989 
COM(94) 97 transmitted on 28 March 1994. 
The  common  position  (OJ  C  297,  29.9.1997)  provides  for  the  adoption  of  specific 
directives in six areas (actually  covering seven of the original  areas) and requests that 
additional provisions be laid down for gluten-based and sodium-based foodstuffs. 
Council common position (EC) No 11/98 with a view to adopting a European Parliament 
and Council  Directive substantively  amending for  the third  time Directive 83/189/EEC 
laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards 
and regulations, OJ C 62, 26.2.1998. 
9 

9) Production of national legislation: no sign of a let-up 

the  burden  on  firms. 

The Member  States continued  to be  the main  producers  of  legislation  and  hence the 
most  direct  cause  of 
instance,  application  of 
Directive 83/18924  laying  down  a  procedure  for  the  provision  of  information  in  the 
technical  standards and  regulations has resulted  in an  increase in national  regulations 
on  products  in  the  single  market  which  exceed  by  far,  in  number,  volume  and 
complexity,  measures  adopted  at  Community  level.  What  is  more,  many  of  these 
instruments may be in breach of Community law. 

For 

Number of draft technical rules notified by Member 
States and possible infrigements 

670* 

1993 

1994 

1995 

1996 

1997 

I Notifications (these figures do not include notifications of transposai measures) 

i Commission opinions on drafts w hic h may constitute an infringement of  Community law 

These figures do not include the 230 notifications from the Netherlands follow ing the 

judgment of the Court of  Justice in CIA Securitel (1996) 

Breakdown by Member State of draft technical 
rules notified in 1997 

120 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

M 

Council 
by 
Directive 88/182/EEC. OJ L 81, 26.3.1998 and Directive 94/10/EEC, OJ L 100, 19.4.1994 

Directive 83/ 189/EEC,  OJ L 109, 

26.4.1983, 

amended 

as 

10 

It is therefore of  fundamental  importance  that the Member States too should embark 
on  additional  measures  to reduce the mass of  legislation  so  that the slimming-down 
objective being pursued at Community level will be fully achieved. 

II 

D E F I N I T I ON  OF  S E R V I CE 

Commission  proposal 

Council  common  position 

Service  "any service 
provided at a distance, by 
electronic means and on 
the individual  request of a 
service receiver". 

Service: "any Information  Society service, that is to say any service normally provided for remuneration, at a distance, by electronic means and at the 
indhidual  request of a recipient of services. 

For the purposes of this definition: 

-  "at a distance " means services provided  without the parties being simultaneously present, 
-  "by electronic means " means that the service is sent initially and received at its destination by means of electronic equipment for  the processing 
(including digital compression) and storage of data, and entirely transmitted,  conveyed and received by wire, by radio, by optical means or by other 
electromagnetic means, 
-  "at the individual request of a recipient ofsen'ices"  means the sendees provided  through the transmission of data on individual request. 

An  indicative list of services not covered by this definition is set out in Annex III. 
This Directive shall not apply to: 
- radio broadcasting sen-ices, 
- television broadcasting sen-ices covered by point  fa) of Article  1  of Directive 89 552'EEC. 

Annex  HI 

Services not covered  by Article 1 

1. Services not provided "at a distance" 

Services provided in the physical presence of the provider and the recipient, even if they involve the use of electronic devices: 
- medical examinations or treatment at a doctor's surgery using electronic equipment where the patient is physically present, 
- consultation of an electronic catalogue in a shop with the customer on site, 
- plane ticket reservation at a travel agency in the physical presence of the customer by means of a network of computers, 
- electronic games made available in a video-arcade where the customer is physically present. 

2. Services not provided "by electronic means": 

Services having material content even though provided via electronic devices: 
- automatic cash or ticket dispensing machines (banknotes, rail tickets); 
- access to road networks, car parks, etc., charging for use, even if there are electronic devices at the entrance/exit controlling access and/or ensuring 
correct payment is made, 

• "off-line"  services: distribution of CD-ROMs or software on diskettes, 

12 

Services which are not provided via electronic processing/inventory systems: 
- voice telephony services. 
- fax/telex services. 
- telephone/fax consultation of a doctor. 
- telephone/fax  consultation of a lawyer. 
- telephone/fax  direct marketing. 

3.  Services not supplied "at the individual  request of a recipient of services": 

services provided by transmitting data without individual demand for simultaneous reception by an unlimited number of individual receivers (point to 
multi-point transmission): 

television broadcasting  services 

(including near-video-on-demand services), covered by point (a) of Article  1  of Directive 89/552/EEC, 

- radio broadcasting services. 
- (televised) teletext. 
D E F I N I T I ON  OF  THE  R U L ES  ON  S E R V I C ES 

Commission proposal 

Council common position 

rule on services: "a 
requirement relating to 
the taking-up and pursuit 
of service activities within 
the meaning of point 2 of 
this article, and in 
particular provisions 
concerning the service 
provider, services and the 
service receiver, to the 
exclusion of any rules that 
are not specifically  aimed 
at the service defined 
within this same point". 

rule on services,  "a requirement of a general nature relating to the taking-up and pursuit of service activities within the meaning of point 2, in 
particular provisions  concerning the service provider, the sennces  and the recipient of services, excluding any rules which are not specifically aimed at 
the senices  defined in that point. 

This directive shall not apply to rules relating to matters which are covered by Community legislation in the field  of telecommunications services, as 
defined by Directive 90 387 EEC as amended. 

This directive shall not apply to rules relating to matters which are covered by Community legislation in the field of financial services, as listed 
non-exhaustive ly in Annex IV to this directive. 
For the purposes of this definition: 

- a rule shall be considered to be specifically aimed at information society services where, having regard to its statement of reasons and its operative 
parts,  the specific aim and objective of some or all of its individual provisions is to regulate such services in an explicit and targeted manner; 
- a rule shall not be considered to be specifically aimed at information society services if it affects such services only in an implicit or incidental 
manner ". 

Annex IV 

Financial  services referred  to in Article 1 

- investment services, 

13 

- insurance and re-insurance operations, 
- banking services, 
- operations relating to pension funds, 
- services relating to dealings in futures or options. 

Such services include in particular: 

- investment services referred  to in the annex to Directive 93/22/EEC. services of collective investment undertakings. 
- services covered by the activities subject to mutual recognition referred to in the annex to Directive 89/646/EEC 
- operations covered by the insurance and re-insurance activities referred to in: 

- Article  1 of Directive 73/239/EEC, 
- the annex to Directive 79/267/EEC, 
- Directive 64/225/EEC, 
- Directives 92/49/EEC and 92/96/EEC. 

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ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(98) 345 final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

05  10  16 

Catalogue  number  :  CB-CO-98-367-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-36983-7 

Office  for Official  Publications of the European Communities 

L-2985 Luxembourg