WRITTEN QUESTION E-3553/00 by James Provan (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Restriction of free trade.
Date: 2000-11-15
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: United Kingdom, dominant position, freedom of trade, restriction on competition, trade event

8.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 136 E/233

SMEs need access to a broad range of business and professional services to help them both to survive and
flourish in today(cid:146)s rapidly changing business environment. Yet the market for professional services is one
where regulatory barriers still exist that frustrate the ability of SMEs to purchase much needed services at a
competitive price and in a user-friendly manner. Some of these barriers have been errected to shelter some
of the markets for regulated services against competition, thereby maintaining the price of such services at
artificially high levels.

Will the European Commission assure the European Parliament that the needs of SMEs to have unrest-
ricted access to competitively priced professional services will be placed at the top of the political agenda?

What measures does the Commission propose to dismantle regulatory barriers erected by some of the
liberal professionsl that have the effect of inflating the cost of professional services that are one of the
largest items of expenditure for many SMEs?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(4 December 2000)

The Commission is pursuing an active policy as regards the application of the competition rules in the
liberal professions, enabling it to end restrictive practices in the liberal professions, such as the collective
fixing of fees and the ban on advertising, which constitute constraints on access to these service markets.

It should also be pointed out that the Member States are required to adhere to the principles of freedom of
establishment and freedom to provide services under Articles 43 (ex Article 52) and 49 (ex Article 59) of
the EC Treaty. In accordance with the rulings of the Court of Justice, applying these principles enables the
elimination of barriers of state origin as well as obstacles resulting from the exercise of legal autonomy by
associations and bodies which do not come under public law. In the latter case, national
judges are
responsible for ensuring that the principles set out in Articles 43 and 49 of the EC Treaty are adhered to.

The Commission is preparing a Communication in response to the call from the Heads of State and
Government at the Lisbon European Council for a strategy by the end of 2000 for the elimination of
barriers to services. Implementing this strategy will enable any additional action required in all service
sectors to be identified. Moreover,
the recognition of professional qualifications,
consideration is being given to improving the conditions for service provision compared with those for
freedom of establishment.

in the context of

(2001/C 136 E/275)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3553/00

by James Provan (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(15 November 2000)

Subject: Restriction of free trade

Is the Commission aware that the organisers of a trade exhibition in the UK, the only exhibition for this
particular industry in the country, are refusing to allow a particular company to apply for a presence at the
exhibition because that company is in competition with the main sponsors of the exhibition? Can the
Commission indicate whether this discrimination breaches EU regulations on abuse of dominant position
or freedom of trade?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(12 December 2000)

The Commission in its interpretative communication concerning the application of the single market rules
to the sector of fairs and exhibitions (1), set out the essential legal principles of the internal market that
govern the various aspects of fairs and trade exhibitions.

C 136 E/234

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

8.5.2001

It should be stressed that the relevant internal market rules are applicable when there is an intra-
Community element,
In this regard, exhibitors
established in another Member State must, without being subject
to discriminatory or unjustified
restrictions, be allowed access to fairs and exhibitions held anywhere in the Community.

from one Member State to another.

i.e. movement

By virtue of this principle, any national rules allowing organisers, acting arbitrarily or according to ill-
defined criteria, to restrict access to a fair to certain categories of exhibitors give rise to doubts as to the
conditions under which operators can take part. Those doubts are unlikely to afford a sufficient level of
legal certainty, or to safeguard properly the rights arising from the EC Treaty. At all events, any decision
whereby an operator from the Community is not admitted to, or is excluded from, a fair or exhibition
must be substantiated and must be open to judicial review.

As for the competition rules, an infringement may arise if an organiser of a fair or an exhibition is in a
dominant position on the relevant market and imposes unjustified and unnecessary restrictions, thereby
using its market power for anti-competitive ends. A refusal to deal by the organiser in question therefore
could be considered as abusive. This would depend on the facts of the case

From the question it is not clear whether the issue to which the Honourable Member refers falls within the
If there is a intra-Community element in the particular case, the interested
above mentioned rules.
company can address a complaint to the Commission for infringement of the rules of the internal market
or of the competition rules.

(1) SEC(97) 2338 final.

(2001/C 136 E/276)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3559/00

by Luciana Sbarbati (ELDR) to the Commission

(9 November 2000)

Subject: Harmonisation of national laws on the recognition of qualifications

Every day the Committee on Petitions, of which I am vice-chairman, is approached by citizens who believe
that they have suffered discrimination or consider themselves to have been wronged. Since the beginning
of the current parliamentary term the committee has received a great many complaints stemming from a
failure or refusal to recognise qualifications. Community citizens who have studied in non-member
countries and nationals of non-member countries who settle in an EU Member State take exception to
the fact that, even though they are properly qualified, they cannot practise their professions because of the
different national laws on the recognition of qualifications.

Free movement of persons is one of the improvements to have been brought about by European
integration, and, given that student and worker mobility will become increasingly widespread, more and
more problems will arise in this area.

School systems and syllabuses remain the responsibility of the Member States.

The lengthy and costly procedures entailed in appeals to the Court of Justice make it difficult to take legal
action.

The unequal treatment within the EU could trigger migration to countries where people can practise their
professions, posing potential competition problems.

Without encroaching on the Member States(cid:146) freedom as regards recognition of qualifications and bearing
in mind that education and culture have hitherto been a focus of attention, does the Commission not
believe that it should draw up a directive to regulate and harmonise this area by laying down minimum
standards of schooling, integrated syllabuses, technologically advanced training schemes, language profi-
ciency for the different levels of training, teacher mobility arrangements, and so forth?

Alternatively, will it take any other steps and, if so, when, not least in anticipation of enlargement?