European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication: An Internal Market Strategy for Services (COM(2000) 888 - C5-0103/2001 - 2001/2052(COS))
Date: 2001-10-04
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: economic policy, enlargement of the Union, freedom to provide services, single market, tertiary sector, trade restriction

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Thursday 4 October 2001

30.
Believes that a genuine single market in financial services, whether on or off-line, cannot be
achieved without consistent and timely implementation and enforcement of legislation; calls upon the
Commission to enforce the e-commerce directive proactively and vigorously; calls upon financial services
regulators in different Member States to work closely together to ensure consistent implementation and
interpretation of all legislation relating to e-commerce and financial services;

31.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and the Council.

11. Internal market strategy for services

A5-0310/2001

European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication: An Internal Market Strategy
for Services (COM(2000) 888 ( C5-0103/2001 ( 2001/2052(COS))

The European Parliament,

$ having regard to the Commission communication (COM(2000) 888 $ C5-0103/2001),

$ having regard to the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council, in particular paragraph 17 thereof,

$ having regard to Articles 15(2), 16, 35, 36, 37 and 38 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the

European Union (1),

$ having regard to its resolution of 13 April 2000 on the communication from the Commission to the
European Parliament and the Council: The Strategy of Europe’s internal market (COM(1999) 464 $
C5-0212/1999 $ 1999/2167(COS)) (2),

$ having regard to Articles 14(2), 16 and 49 to 55 of the EC Treaty,

$ having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

$ having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market and the

opinion of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy (A5-0310/2001),

A. whereas the services sector is one of fundamental

importance to the further development of the

European economy, since:

$ it already accounts for the greater part of GNP and more than two thirds of employment,

$ the changeover to the information society is imparting a new dynamic to this sector,

$ it provides the fundamental precondition for the competitiveness of other sectors,

$ it functions as the motor of skilled employment and innovation,

1. Welcomes the fact that with this communication the Commission is complying with a request made
by the Lisbon Council, and is seeking to do justice to the increasing importance of the service sector with
a global internal market strategy; expresses its support for the Commission’s initiative and stresses the
political necessity and urgent economic need for such a strategy to carry into full effect the internal market
in services by removing the legislative and administrative obstacles encountered by service providers wish-
ing to operate on the European market;

2.
Stresses the importance of services as drivers of the new economy and the increasing integration of
manufacturing with the provision of services; recalls that barriers to cross-border services in one sector can
adversely affect the provision and the free movement of services in many other sectors, especially in the
case of barriers to business and professional services; welcomes, therefore, the horizontal and comprehen-
sive approach of the new strategy;

(1) OJ C 364, 18.12.2000, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 40, 7.2.2001, p. 465.

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Stresses the importance of having in place an effective internal market in services before enlargement

3.
of the EU takes place;

Calls on the Commission to analyse the costs of the malfunctioning of the internal market in services
4.
and the losses in terms of economic growth, competitiveness and job creation; asks the Commission to
give attention also to the international competitiveness of the European services industry; recalls that the
current fragmentation of the internal market results in higher costs for business and consumers alike, while
also limiting consumer choice; emphasises that a fully functioning internal market for all type of services is
in the best interests of business and consumers;

5.
Considers the strategy of adopting an overall approach to the service sector as a whole, while being
prepared where necessary to look separately at specific sectors, as purposeful and in accordance with
Articles 14 and 50 of the EC Treaty;

Supports fundamentally the five basic principles for a strategy for removing obstacles standing in the

6.
way of freedom to provide services;

7.
Invites the Commission as far as possible to remove barriers by direct application of the Treaty to
draw up to this end as exhaustive a list of barriers as possible, and to propose a horizontal legislative
instrument targeting those legislative barriers which cannot be removed by direct application of the Treaty;

8.
Asks the Commission to inform the European Parliament about the legislative instrument intended to
reach the aim of the creation of the internal market in services $ directive or regulation $ before starting
to draft it;

9.

Supports the two-stage approach adopted by the Commission;

Notes in relation to the first stage of operations proposed for 2001 that the European Parliament

10.
discharged its responsibilities in almost all the legislative procedures cited without delay;

11.
Calls on Member States to provide the Commission with statistical data related to cross-border
provision of services, as well as with information related to the implementation of the existing legislation
concerning services and the legislative and non-legislative measures to come;

12.
Asks the Commission to collect information and statistical data on trade in services also in the
candidate countries in order to have the clearest possible view of the obstacles which could hinder the
completion of the Internal Market in Services before and after enlargement;

13.
Stresses the urgent need to complete the legislative framework for e-commerce and on-line services
by establishing an internal market framework for off-line services; emphasises that, in order to avoid over-
regulation at Community level, harmonisation should be targeted and limited to what is strictly necessary
to ensure the free movement of services and the freedom of establishment; recalls that, as far as is possible,
mutual recognition of national rules and requirements and the country of origin principle should be
applied;

14.
Calls on the Commission to promote accompanying measures $ such as a database on legislation
and the diffusion of know-how $ to promote SMEs’ role in the internal market in services so that these
businesses can fully participate and be integrated into it;

15.
Regrets that the Commission appears no longer to consider its two proposals for directives on the
authorisation of third-country nationals to provide services as an important component of a comprehen-
sive strategy;

16.
Proposes, starting in the first stage, that comprehensive information be provided to all authorities
potentially involved, in particular the competent regional supervisory authorities, concerning the legislation
in force in the area of service provision;

17.
Notes with regret that the communication makes no reference to the connection between regu-
lation, co-regulation and self-regulation with regard to the implementation of the internal market and so
calls on the Commission to state its position on the subject;

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18. Welcomes the announced systematic removal of restrictions on the free movement of services;
notes however that the questionnaire already published makes no distinction between goods and services;

19.
Recalls that the competitiveness of European services also depends on the capacity of European
businesses to supply services and calls on the Commission and innovative Member States to promote
innovation in Europe;

Stresses that the internal market in services represents a great opportunity for innovative businesses

20.
to find a niche on the market;

21.
Draws attention to the opportunities which the internal market offers, in particular, to small and
medium-sized undertakings, which can provide their services without having to set up costly bases in the
target national market and without being subject to a multiplicity of regulatory systems;

Suspects that in many cases cultural, linguistic and knowledge-based factors will be among the

22.
reasons for the insufficient take-up on freedom to provide services;

Notes the advantages which the creation of the internal market offers consumers by providing them
23.
with a wide range of competitive and high-quality services together with rights which they can exercise
directly;

Regrets that the Commission is not facing up to the risks of applying the principle of mutual

24.
recognition;

25.
Calls on the Member States to engage themselves at political, legislative and administrative level in
order to remove barriers to service exchanges detected by the Commission and recalls that without
Member States’ political will it is not feasible to create the Internal Market in Services;

Urges the Commission to step up the use of the option of bringing Treaty violation proceedings in

26.
cases of genuine infringements;

27.
Calls on the Commission throughout the process launched by the strategy, without waiting for the
second step of the strategy, to adopt a rigorous infringement policy vis-à-vis Member States which take
measures incompatible with Articles 43 and 49 of the Treaty;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the govern-

28.
ments of the Member States.

12. Pre-contractual information on home loans

A5-0290/2001

European Parliament
resolution on the Commission recommendation on pre-contractual
information to be given to consumers by lenders offering home loans (C5-0256/2001 ( 2001/
2121(COS))

The European Parliament,

$ having regard to the Commission recommendation (C(2001) 477 $ C5-0256/2001) (1),

$ having regard to the Financial Services Action Plan (COM(1999) 232),

$ having regard to the Commission’s third report on financial services priorities and progress

(COM(2000) 692),

$ having regard to the European agreement on a Voluntary Code of Conduct on pre-contractual

information for home loans (the ‘Code’),

(1) OJ L 69, 10.3.2001, p. 25.