CELEX: 51997PC0601
Language: en
Date: 1997-11-17
Title: Amended proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive 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

C 65/12              EN                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                      28.2.98
                                                               II
                                                       (Preparatory Acts)
                                                  COMMISSION
              Amended proposal for a European Parliament and Council directive 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 regulationsØ(Î)
                                                         (98/C 65/07)
                                                    (Text with EEA relevance)
                                             COM(97) 601 final — 96/0220(COD)
              (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 189a(2) of the EC Treaty on 17 November
                                                              1997)
              (Î)ÙOJ CØ307, 16.10.1996, p. 11.
                     INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                    AMENDED PROPOSAL
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL                             THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL
OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,                                              OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European               Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, in particular Articles 100a and 213 thereof,             Community, in particular Articles 100a and 213 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal of the Commission,                    Having regard to the proposal of the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                    Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,                                                   Social Committee,
Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in              Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in
Article 189b of the Treaty,                                         Article 189b of the Treaty,
 (1)ÙWhereas, in order to promote the smooth func-                   (1)ÙWhereas, in order to promote the smooth func-
      tioning of the internal market, as much trans-                      tioning of the internal market, as much trans-
      parency as possible should be ensured as regards                    parency as possible should be ensured as regards
      the future national rules and regulations that will                 the future national rules and regulations that will
      apply to information society services by amending                   apply to information society services by amending
      Directive 83/189/EEC;                                               Directive 83/189/EEC;
                                                                     (1a)ÙWhereas the concepts of ‘service’ and ‘provision of
                                                                            service’ used in this Directive must be understood
                                                                            in the broad sense of the term given to them by
                                                                            the case-law of the Court of Justice in its interpre-
                                                                            tation of Articles 59 to 66 of the EC Treaty;
 ---pagebreak--- 28.2.98              EN               Official Journal of the European Communities                                C 65/13
                     INITIAL PROPOSAL                                               AMENDED PROPOSAL
 (2)ÙWhereas a wide variety of services within the               (2)ÙWhereas a wide variety of services within the
     meaning of Articles 59 and 60 of the Treaty will                meaning of Articles 59 and 60 of the Treaty will
     benefit from the opportunities afforded by the                  benefit from the opportunities afforded by the
     information society for being provided at a                     information society for being provided at a
     distance, electronically and on the individual                  distance, electronically and on the individual
     request of a service receiver;                                  request of a service receiver;
 (3)ÙWhereas the area without internal frontiers of              (3)ÙWhereas the area without internal frontiers of
     which the internal market consists enables the                  which the internal market consists enables the
     providers of such services to develop their cross-              providers of such services to develop their cross-
     border activities with a view to increasing their               border activities with a view to increasing their
     competitiveness, and thus affords ordinary citizens             competitiveness, and thus affords ordinary citizens
     new opportunities for transmitting and receiving                new opportunities for transmitting and receiving
     information regardless of frontiers, and consumers              information regardless of frontiers, and consumers
     new forms of access to goods and services;                      new forms of access to goods and services;
 (4)ÙWhereas the various social, societal and cultural           (4)ÙWhereas the various social, societal and cultural
     implications of the advent of the information                   implications of the advent of the information
     society may require account to be taken of the                  society may require account to be taken of the
     specificity of the content of such services;                    specificity of the content of such services;
                                                                 (4a)ÙWhereas there may be instances in which Member
                                                                      States deem it necessary to take measures in the
                                                                      interest of preserving cultural identity and
                                                                      diversity, having due regard for Community law;
 (5)ÙWhereas the European Council has stressed the               (5)ÙWhereas the European Council has stressed the
     need to create a clear and stable legal framework at            need to create a clear and stable legal framework at
     Community level in order to foster the development              Community level in order to foster the development
     of the information society; whereas Community law               of the information society; whereas Community law
     and the rules governing the internal market in                  and the rules governing the internal market in
     particular, including both the principles enshrined             particular, including both the principles enshrined
     in the Treaty and secondary legislation, already                in the Treaty and secondary legislation, already
     constitue a basic legal framework for the growth of             constitute a basic legal framework for the growth
     such services;                                                  of such services;
                                                                 (5a)ÙWhereas the Commission has committed itself to
                                                                      submitting Green Papers followed by proposals for
                                                                      joint actions on the new services;
 (6)ÙWhereas the current national rules and regulations          (6)ÙWhereas the current national rules and regulations
     applicable to existing services will have to be                 applicable to existing services will have to be
     adapted to take account of the new information                  adapted to take account of the new information
     society services, either with a view to ensuring that           society services, either with a view to ensuring that
     the general interest is better safeguarded or, on the           the general interest is better safeguarded or, on the
     contrary, with a view to simplifying them where                 contrary, with a view to simplifying them where
     their application is disproportionate to the                    their application is disproportionate to the
     objectives they pursue;                                         objectives they pursue;
 ---pagebreak--- C 65/14             EN                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                    28.2.98
                     INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                AMENDED PROPOSAL
 (7)ÙWhereas, without coordination at Community level,            (7)ÙWhereas, without coordination at Community level,
     this foreseeable regulatory activity at national level           this foreseeable regulatory activity at national level
     might result in restrictions to the free movement of             might result in restrictions to the free movement of
     services and the freedom of establishment, leading               services and the freedom of establishment, leading
     in turn to a refragmentation of the internal market,             in turn to a refragmentation of the internal market,
     over-regulation and regulatory inconsistencies;                  over-regulation and regulatory inconsistencies;
 (8)ÙWhereas, in order to ensure real and effective               (8)ÙWhereas, in order to ensure real and effective
     protection of the general interest objectives which              protection of the general interest objectives which
     play a part in the development of the information                play a part in the development of the information
     society, there is a need for a coordinated approach              society, there is a need for a coordinated approach
     at Community level when dealing with questions                   at Community level when dealing with questions
     relating to activities with such highly transnational            relating to activities with such highly transnational
     connotations as the new services have;                           connotations as the new services have;
 (8a)ÙWhereas there already exists Community harmon-              (8a)ÙWhereas there already exists Community harmon-
       isation for telecommunications services and that                 isation for telecommunications services and that
       the existing Community legislation foresees adap-                the existing Community legislation foresees adap-
       tations to account for technological developments                tations to account for technological developments
       and the supply of new services;                                  and the supply of new services;
 (9)ÙWhereas, for the other, less well-known fields of            (9)ÙWhereas, for the other, less well-known fields of
     the information society, it would be premature,                  the information society, it would be premature,
     however, to coordinate such rules and regulations                however, to coordinate such rules and regulations
     by means of an extensive or exhaustive harmon-                   by means of an extensive or exhaustive harmon-
     isation at Community level of the substantive law,               isation at Community level of the substantive law,
     given, first, that neither the form the new services             given, first, that neither the form the new services
     will take nor their nature is sufficiently well known,           will take nor their nature is sufficiently well known,
     secondly, that there is as yet at national level no              secondly, that there is as yet at national level no
     specific regulatory activity in this field, and, thirdly,        specific regulatory activity in this field, and, thirdly,
     that the need for and content of such harmon-                    that the need for and content of such harmon-
     isation in the light of the internal market cannot be            isation in the light of the internal market cannot be
     defined at this stage;                                           defined at this stage;
(10)ÙWhereas it is therefore necessary to preserve the           (10)ÙWhereas it is therefore necessary to preserve the
     smooth functioning of the area without internal                  smooth functioning of the area without internal
     frontiers and to avert the risks of refragmentation              frontiers and to avert the risks of refragmentation
     by providing for a procedure for the provision of                by providing for a procedure for the provision of
     information, the holding of consultations, and                   information, the holding of consultations, and
     administrative cooperation in respect of the new                 administrative cooperation in respect of the new
     draft rules and regulations; whereas such a                      draft rules and regulations; whereas such a
     procedure will contribute inter alia to ensure that              procedure will contribute inter alia to ensure that
     the Treaty, in particular Articles 52 and 59 thereof,            the Treaty, in particular Articles 52 and 59 thereof,
     is effectively applied, and, where appropriate, to               is effectively applied, and, where appropriate, to
     detect the need to safeguard the general interest at             detect the need to safeguard the general interest at
     Community level; whereas, moreover, the improved                 Community level; whereas, moreover, the improved
     application of the Treaty made possible by such an               application of the Treaty made possible by such an
     information procedure will have the effect of                    information procedure will have the effect of
     reducing the need for Community rules to that                    reducing the need for Community rules to that
     which is strictly necessary and proportional in the              which is strictly necessary and proportional in the
     light of the internal market and of the protection of            light of the internal market and of the protection of
     general interest objectives; whereas, lastly, such a             general interest objectives; whereas, lastly, such a
     procedure will enable businesses to exploit the                  procedure will enable businesses to exploit the
     advantages of the internal market more effectively;              advantages of the internal market more effectively;
 ---pagebreak--- 28.2.98             EN                Official Journal of the European Communities                                 C 65/15
                     INITIAL PROPOSAL                                               AMENDED PROPOSAL
(11)ÙWhereas Council Directive 83/189/EEC of 28                 (11)ÙCouncil Directive 83/189/EEC of 28 March 1983
     March 1983 laying down a procedure for the                      laying down a procedure for the provision of
     provision of information in the field of technical              information in the field of technical standards and
     standards and regulations pursues the same                      regulations pursues the same objectives; whereas
     objectives; whereas this procedure is effective, being          this procedure is effective, being the most compre-
     the most comprehensive one for attaining these                  hensive one for attaining these objectives; whereas
     objectives; whereas the experience that has been                the experience that has been gained in
     gained in implementing the Directive and the                    implementing the Directive and the procedures
     procedures provided for therein can be applied to               provided for therein can be applied to draft rules on
     draft rules on information society services; whereas            information society services; whereas the procedure
     the procedure it lays down is now well established              it lays down is now well established among national
     among national authorities;                                     authorities;
(12)ÙWhereas, moreover, in accordance with Article 7a           (12)ÙWhereas, moreover, in accordance with Article 7a
     of the Treaty, the internal market comprises an                 of the Treaty, the internal market comprises an
     area without internal frontiers in which the free               area without internal frontiers in which the free
     movement of goods, persons, services and capital is             movement of goods, persons, services and capital is
     ensured; whereas Directive 83/189/EEC provides                  ensured; whereas Directive 83/189/EEC provides
     only for an administrative cooperation procedure                only for an administrative cooperation procedure
     and not for any harmonisation of substantive rules;             and not for any harmonisation of substantive rules;
(13)ÙWhereas, therefore, amendment of Directive                 (13)ÙWhereas, therefore, amendment of Directive
     83/189/EEC with a view to applying it to draft                  83/189/EEC with a view to applying it to draft
     rules and regulations on information society                    rules and regulations on information society
     services is the approach best suited to meeting                 services is the approach best suited to meeting
     effectively the need for transparency in the internal           effectively the need for transparency in the internal
     market as far as the legal framework for                        market as far as the legal framework for
     information society services is concerned;                      information society services is concerned;
(14)ÙWhereas, in view of the diversity of information           (14)ÙWhereas, in view of the diversity of information
     society services and their future growth, notifi-               society services and their future growth, notifi-
     cation should be provided for only in the case of               cation should be provided for only in the case of
     rules which are likely to evolve in future; whereas             rules which are likely to evolve in future; whereas
     the services which are likely to necessitate and                the services which are likely to necessitate and
     generate the largest number of new rules and regu-              generate the largest number of new rules and regu-
     lations are those which are provided at a distance,             lations are those which are provided at a distance,
     electronically, and on the individual request of a              electronically, and on the individual request of a
     service     receiver;   whereas     provision     must          service     receiver;  whereas      provision    must
     accordingly be made for the notification of draft               accordingly be made for the notification of draft
     rules and regulations relating to such services;                rules and regulations relating to such services;
(15)ÙWhereas specific rules on the taking-up and pursuit        (15)ÙWhereas specific rules on the taking-up and pursuit
     of service activities which are capable of being                of service activities which are capable of being
     carried on the manner described above should thus               carried on the manner described above should thus
     be communicated even where they are included in a               be communicated even where they are included in a
     set of rules and regulations with a more general                set of rules and regulations with a more general
     purpose; whereas, however, general rules which do               purpose; whereas, however, general rules which do
     not contain any specific provision concerning such              not contain any specific provision concerning such
     services should not be notified;                                services should not be notified;
 ---pagebreak--- C 65/16              EN                Official Journal of the European Communities                                 28.2.98
                      INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                AMENDED PROPOSAL
(16)ÙWhereas ‘rules on the taking-up and pursuit of              (16)ÙWhereas ‘rules on the taking-up and pursuit of
     service activities’ means rules laying down any form             service activities’ means rules laying down any form
     of requirement, such as those relating to service                of requirement, such as those relating to service
     providers, services and service receivers and to an              providers, services and service receivers and to an
     economic activity capable of being provided elec-                economic activity capable of being provided elec-
     tronically, is a distance and on the individual                  tronically, is a distance and on the individual
     request of the service receiver; whereas, for                    request of the service receiver; whereas, for
     example, rules on the establishment of service                   example, rules on the establishment of service
     providers, in particular those on authorisation or               providers, in particular those on authorisation or
     licensing arrangements, are thus covered; whereas                licensing arrangements, are thus covered; whereas
     shall be considered as auch a rule a provision                   shall be considered as auch a rule a provision
     specifically aimed at information society services               specifically aimed at information society services
     even if part of more general regulation;                         even if part of more general regulation;
(17)ÙWhereas this Directive is without prejudice to the          (17)ÙWhereas this Directive is without prejudice to the
     scope of Council Directive 89/552/EC on the                      scope of Council Directive 89/552/EC on the
     coordination of certain provisions laid down by                  coordination of certain provisions laid down by
     law, regulation or administrative action in Member               law, regulation or administrative action in Member
     States concerning the pursuit of television broad-               States concerning the pursuit of television broad-
     casting activities such as modified by Directive                 casting activities such as modified by Directive
     96/.Ø.Ø./EC of the European Parliament and the                   96/36/EC of the European Parliament and the
     Council or any future modification of that                       Council or any future modification of that
     Directive;                                                       Directive;
                                                                 (17a)ÙWhereas the Commission has undertaken to
                                                                        submit a Green Paper on the development of the
                                                                        cultural aspects of the new services; whereas this
                                                                        initiative could, if applicable, be followed by a
                                                                        proposal for appropriate measures;
                                                                 (17b) Whereas, therefore, this Directive is also without
                                                                        prejudice to the scope of cultural aspects of any
                                                                        future Community policy;
                                                                 (17c) Whereas developments in the market for new
                                                                        information society services should be regularly
                                                                        examined at Community level, especially from the
                                                                        viewpoint of the convergence between telecom-
                                                                        munications, information technology and the
                                                                        media, with a view, where appropriate, to legis-
                                                                        lative, initiatives being taken to encourage the
                                                                        development of the new services at European
                                                                        level;
(18)ÙWhereas this Directive is without prejudice to the          (18)ÙWhereas this Directive is without prejudice to the
     negotiations concerning and the content of the                   content of European Parliament and Council
     proposal for a European Parliament and Council                   directive 97/13/EC on a common framework for
     directive on a common framework for general                      general authorisations and individual licences for
     authorisations and individual licences for telecom-              telecommunications services;
     munications services;
 ---pagebreak--- 28.2.98               EN               Official Journal of the European Communities                                 C 65/17
                       INITIAL PROPOSAL                                              AMENDED PROPOSAL
(19)ÙWhereas, at all events, this Directive does not cover       (19)ÙWhereas, at all events, this Directive does not cover
     the drafts of national provisions aimed at                       the drafts of national provisions aimed at
     implementing the content of Community directives                 implementing the content of Community directives
     in force or awaiting adoption inasmuch as they                   in force or awaiting adoption inasmuch as they
     already form the subject matter of a specific exam-              already form the subject matter of a specific exam-
     ination; whereas it accordingly does not cover                   ination; whereas it accordingly does not cover
     either national rules and regulations implementing               either national rules and regulations implementing
     Council Directive 89/522/EC on the coordination                  Council Directive 89/522/EC on the coordination
     of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation               of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation
     or administrative action in Member States                        or administrative action in Member States
     concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting                concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting
     activities, as amended by European Parliament and                activities, as amended by European Parliament and
     Council Directive 96/.Ø.Ø./EC or any future                      Council Directive 97/36/EC or any future
     amendments of that Directive or national rules and               amendments of that Directive or national rules and
     regulations implementing the future Directive on a               regulations implementing Directive 97/13/EC on a
     common framework for general authorisations and                  common framework for general authorisations and
     individual licences for telecommunications services;             individual licences for telecommunications services;
(20)ÙWhereas definition of the framework for the                 (20)ÙWhereas definition of the framework for the
     provision of information and the holding of consul-              provision of information and the holding of consul-
     tations at Community level as established by this                tations at Community level as established by this
     Directive is a precondition for a coordinated and                Directive is a precondition for a coordinated and
     effective participation by the European Community                effective participation by the European Community
     in work involving matters relating to the regulatory             in work involving matters relating to the regulatory
     aspects of information society services in the inter-            aspects of information society services in the inter-
     national context;                                                national context;
(21)ÙWhereas this Directive seeks to amend Directive             (21)ÙWhereas this Directive seeks to amend Directive
     83/189/EEC, which for its part (with the exception               83/189/EEC and should therefore be based on
     of Article 43) is based on Articles 100a and 213 of              Articles 100a and 213 of the Treaty;
     the Treaty; whereas there should be a degree of
     consistency in the legal basis used for the same
     Directive;
HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:                                         HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
                            Article 1                                                       Article 1
Directive 83/189/EEC is amended as follows:                      Directive 83/189/EEC is amended as follows:
1.ÙThe title of the Directive is replaced by the following:      1.ÙThe title of the Directive is replaced by the following:
   ‘European Parliament and Council Directive laying                ‘European Parliament and Council Directive laying
   down a procedure for the provision of information in             down a procedure for the provision of information in
   the field of technical standards and regulations and of          the field of technical standards and regulations and of
   rules on information society services.’                          rules on information society services.’.
2.ÙArticle 1 is amended as follows:                              2.ÙArticle 1 is amended as follows:
   (a)Ùa new point is added after point 1:                          (a)Ùa new point is added after point 1:
       ‘2.Ù‘‘service’’: any service provided at a distance,             ‘2.Ù‘‘service’’: any service provided at a distance,
            by electronic means and on the individual                        by electronic means and on the individual
            request of a service receiver;’.                                 request of a service receiver;’.
 ---pagebreak--- C 65/18             EN                Official Journal of the European Communities                                   28.2.98
                     INITIAL PROPOSAL                                               AMENDED PROPOSAL
  (b) points 2 and 3 become points 3 and 4 respectively;           (b) points 2 and 3 become points 3 and 4 respectively;
  (c) a new point 5 is added:                                      (c) a new point 5 is added:
      ‘5.Ù‘‘rule on services’’: a requirement relating to              ‘5.Ù‘‘rule on services’’: a requirement relating to
           the taking-up and pursuit of service activities                  the taking-up and pursuit of service activities
           within the meaning of point 2 of this Article,                   within the meaning of point 2 of this Article,
           and in particular provisions concerning the                      and in particular provisions concerning the
           service provider, the services and the service                   service provider, the services and the service
           receiver, to the exclusion of any rules that are                 receiver, to the exclusion of any rules that are
           not specifically aimed at the services defined                   not specifically aimed at the services defined
           within this same point;’                                         within this same point;’.
  (d) points 4 to 10 become points 6 to 12;                        (d) points 4 to 10 become points 6 to 12;
  (e) the first paragraph of point 9 (new point 11) is             (e) the first paragraph of point 9 (new point 11) is
      replaced by the following:                                       replaced by the following:
      ‘Ø‘‘technical regulation’’: technical specifications             ‘Ø‘‘technical regulation’’: technical specifications
      and other requirements or a rule on services,                    and other requirements or a rule on services,
      including the relevant administrative provisions,                including the relevant administrative provisions,
      the observance of which is compulsory, de jure or                the observance of which is compulsory, de jure or
      de facto, in the case of marketing, provision,                   de facto, in the case of marketing, provision,
      establishment of a service operator or use in a                  establishment of a service operator or use in a
      Member State or a major part thereof, as well as                 Member State or a major part thereof, as well as
      laws, regulations or administrative provisions of                laws, regulations or administrative provisions of
      Member States, except those provided for in                      Member States, except those provided for in
      Article     10,    prohibiting   the    manufacture,             Article     10,    prohibiting   the    manufacture,
      importation, marketing or use of a product or                    importation, marketing or use of a product or
      prohibiting the provision or use of a service or                 prohibiting the provision or use of a service or
      establishment as a service provider.                             establishment as a service provider.
      De facto technical regulations include:                          De facto technical regulations include:
      —Ùlaws, regulations or administrative provisions                 —Ùlaws, regulations or administrative provisions
           of a Member State which refer either to                          of a Member State which refer either to
           technical specifications or other requirements                   technical specifications or other requirements
           or rules on services, or to professional codes                   or rules on services, or to professional codes
           or codes of practice which in turn refer to                      or codes of practice which in turn refer to
           technical specifications or other requirements                   technical specifications or other requirements
           or rules on services and compliance with                         or rules on services and compliance with
           which confers a presumption of conformity                        which confers a presumption of conformity
           with the obligations imposed by the aforemen-                    with the obligations imposed by the aforemen-
           tioned laws, regulations or administrative                       tioned laws, regulations or administrative
           provisions,                                                      provisions,
 ---pagebreak--- 28.2.98             EN                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                 C 65/19
                     INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                 AMENDED PROPOSAL
       —Ùvoluntary agreements to which a public                          —Ùvoluntary agreements to which a public
           authority is a contracting party and which                        authority is a contracting party and which
           provides, in the general interest, for                            provides, in the general interest, for
           compliance with technical specifications or                       compliance with technical specifications or
           other requirements or rules on services,                          other requirements or rules on services,
           excluding public procurement tender specifi-                      excluding public procurement tender specifi-
           cations,                                                          cations,
       —Ùtechnical specifications or other requirements                  —Ùtechnical specifications or other requirements
           which are linked to fiscal or financial                           which are linked to fiscal or financial
           measures affecting the consumption of                             measures affecting the consumption of
           products     or    services   by     encouraging                  products     or    services   by    encouraging
           compliance with such technical specifications                     compliance with such technical specifications
           or other requirements or rules on services;                       or other requirements or rules on services;
           technical specifications or other requirements                    technical specifications or other requirements
           or rules on services linked to national social-                   or rules on services linked to national social-
           security systems are not included;’                               security systems are not included;’
   (f) point 10 (new point 12) is replaced by the                   (f) point 10 (new point 12) is replaced by the
       following:                                                        following:
       ‘12.Ù‘‘draft technical regulation’’: the text of a                ‘12.Ù‘‘draft technical regulation’’: the text of a
            technical specification or other requirement                      technical specification or other requirement
            or of a rule on services, including adminis-                      or of a rule on services, including adminis-
            trative provisions formulated with the aim of                     trative provisions formulated with the aim of
            enacting it or of ultimately having it enacted                    enacting it or of ultimately having it enacted
            as a technical regulation, the text being at a                    as a technical regulation, the text being at a
            stage of preparation at which substantial                         stage of preparation at which substantial
            amendments can still be made.’                                    amendments can still be made.’
                                                                 2aÙThe following new subparagraph is added to Article
                                                                     6(7):
                                                                     ‘In particular, with regard to rules concerning
                                                                     services, the Committee and national administrations
                                                                     may consult experts from industry and academia,
                                                                     who will be asked, where appropriate, to formulate
                                                                     advice or guidelines for the Standing Committee.’
3.ÙThe last subparagraph of Article 8(1) is replaced by          3.ÙThe last subparagraph of Article 8(1) is replaced by
   the following:                                                   the following:
   ‘With respect to the technical specifications or other           ‘With respect to the technical specifications or other
   requirements or rules on services referred to in the             requirements or rules on services referred to in the
   third indent of the second paragraph of point 11 of              third indent of the second paragraph of point 11 of
   Article 1, the detailed comments or opinions of the              Article 1, the detailed comments or opinions of the
   Commission or the Member States may concern only                 Commission or the Member States may concern only
   the aspect which may hinder trade or the free                    the aspect which may hinder trade, the free movement
   movement of services and not the fiscal or financial             of services or the freedom of establishment of a
   aspect of the measure.’                                          service operator and not the fiscal or financial aspect
                                                                    of the measure.’
 ---pagebreak--- C 65/20             EN                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                  28.2.98
                     INITIAL PROPOSAL                                               AMENDED PROPOSAL
4.ÙArticle 9 is modified as follows:                             4.ÙArticle 9 is modified as follows:
   (a)Ùthe first paragraph of point 2 is replaced by the            (a)Ùthe first paragraph of point 2 is replaced by the
       following:                                                       following:
       ‘Member States shall postpone:                                   ‘Member States shall postpone:
       —Ùfor four months the adoption of a draft                        —Ùfor four months the adoption of a draft
           technical regulation in the form of a voluntary                  technical regulation in the form of a voluntary
           agreement within the meaning of the second                       agreement within the meaning of the second
           indent of the second paragraph of point 11 of                    indent of the second paragraph of point 11 of
           Article 1,                                                       Article 1,
       —Ùwithout prejudice to paragraphs 3, 4 and 5,                    —Ùwithout prejudice to paragraphs 3, 4 and 5,
           for six months the adoption of any other draft                   for six months the adoption of any other draft
           technical regulation,                                            technical regulation,
       from the date of receipt by the Commission of the                from the date of receipt by the Commission of the
       communication referred to in Article 8(1) if the                 communication referred to in Article 8(1) if the
       Commission or another Member State delivers a                    Commission or another Member State delivers a
       detailed opinion, within three months of that                    detailed opinion, within three months of that
       date, to the effect that the measure envisaged may               date, to the effect that the measure envisaged may
       create obstacle to the free movement of goods or                 create obstacles to the free movement of goods or
       services or to the freedom of establishment of                   services or to the freedom of establishment of
       operators within the internal market.’                           operators within the internal market.’
   (b) point 7 is replaced with the following text:                 (b) point 7 is replaced with the following text:
       ‘Paragraphs 1 to 5 shall not apply in those cases                ‘Paragraphs 1 to 5 shall not apply in those cases
       where, for urgent reasons, occasioned by serious                 where, for urgent reasons, occasioned by serious
       and unforeseeable circumstances, relating to the                 and unforeseeable circumstances, relating to the
       protection of public health or safety, the                       protection of public health or safety, the
       protection of animals or the preservation of                     protection of animals or the preservation of
       plants, and for rules relating to services also for              plants, and for rules relating to services also for
       public order, a Member State is obliged to                       public order, a Member State is obliged to
       prepare technical regulations in a very short space              prepare technical regulations in a very short space
       of time in order to enact and introduce them                     of time in order to enact and introduce them
       immediately without any consultations being                      immediately without any consultations being
       possible. The Member State shall give, in the                    possible. The Member State shall give, in the
       communication referred to in Article 8, the                      communication referred to in Article 8, the
       reasons which warrant the urgency of the                         reasons which warrant the urgency of the
       measures taken. The Commission shall give its                    measures taken. The Commission shall give its
       views on the communication as soon as possible.                  views on the communication as soon as possible.
       It shall take appropriate action in cases where                  It shall take appropriate action in cases where
       improper use is made of this procedure. The                      improper use is made of this procedure. The
       European Parliament shall be kept informed by                    European Parliament shall be kept informed by
       the Commission.’                                                 the Commission.’
5.ÙArticle 10 is amended as follows:                             5.ÙArticle 10 is amended as follows:
   (a)Ùthe first and second indents of paragraph 1 are              (a)Ùthe first and second indents of paragraph 1 are
       replaced by the following:                                       replaced by the following:
       ‘—Ùcomply with binding Community acts which                      ‘—Ùcomply with binding Community acts which
            result in the adoption of technical specifi-                     result in the adoption of technical specifi-
            cations or rules on services;                                    cations or rules on services;
 ---pagebreak--- 28.2.98               EN                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                   C 65/21
                       INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                 AMENDED PROPOSAL
         —Ùfulfil the obligations      arising out of inter-                —Ùfulfil the obligations     arising out of inter-
             national agreements       which result in the                      national agreements      which result in the
             adoption of common        technical specifications                 adoption of common       technical specifications
             or rules on services in  the Community;’                           or rules on services in the Community;’
    (b) the sixth indent of paragraph 1 is replaced by the             (b) the sixth indent of paragraph 1 is replaced by the
        following:                                                         following:
        ‘—Ùrestrict themselves to amending a technical                     ‘—Ùrestrict themselves to amending a technical
             regulation within the meaning of point 11 of                       regulation within the meaning of point 11 of
             Article 1 of this Directive, in accordance with                    Article 1 of this Directive, in accordance with
             a Commission request, with a view to                               a Commission request, with a view to
             removing an obstacle to trade or the free                          removing an obstacle to trade, the free
             movement of services;’                                             movement of services or the freedom of
                                                                                establishment for service operators;’
    (c) in paragraphs 3 and 4 the reference to Article 1(9)            (c) in paragraphs 3 and 4 the reference to Article 1(9)
        is replaced by: ‘point 11 of Article 1’;                           is replaced by: ‘point 11 of Article 1’;
    (d) paragraph 4 is amended as follows:                             (d) paragraph 4 is amended as follows:
        ‘4.ÙArticle 9 shall not apply to the technical spec-               ‘4.ÙArticle 9 shall not apply to the technical spec-
            ifications or other requirements or the rules on                   ifications or other requirements or the rules on
            services referred to in the third indent of the                    services referred to in the third indent of the
            second paragraph of point 11 of Article 1.’                        second paragraph of point 11 of Article 1.’
                                                                   6.ÙThe following second subparagraph is added to
                                                                       Article 11:
                                                                       ‘The Commission, in its report, should take duly into
                                                                       account the social, societal and cultural aims
                                                                       envisaged for any draft rule on services.’
                            Article 2                                                         Article 2
1.ÚÙMember States shall bring into force the regulations           1.ÚÙMember States shall bring into force the regulations
and administrative provisions necessary to comply with             and administrative provisions necessary to comply with
this Directive by 31/12/97 at the latest. They shall               this Directive by 30 June 1998 at the latest. They shall
forthwith inform the Commission thereof.                           forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
When Member States adopt these provisions, they shall              When Member States adopt these provisions, they shall
contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accom-           contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accom-
panied by such reference at the time of their official             panied by such reference at the time of their official
publication.                                                       publication.
The procedure for such reference shall be adopted by               The procedure for such reference shall be adopted by
Member States.                                                     Member States.
2.ÚÙMember States shall communicate the main                       2.ÚÙMember States shall communicate the main
provisions of national law which they adopt in the field           provisions of national law which they adopt in the field
covered by this Directive to the Commission.                       covered by this Directive to the Commission.
 ---pagebreak--- C 65/22            EN              Official Journal of the European Communities                                28.2.98
                    INITIAL PROPOSAL                                            AMENDED PROPOSAL
                                                                                     Article 2a
                                                             Before 1 July 2000, the Commission shall review whether
                                                             it should submit to the European Parliament and the
                                                             Council proposals for a revision of this Directive, in
                                                             particular in the light of the technological development
                                                             of the services referred to in Article 1(2). To this end,
                                                             the Commission shall take account of any comments
                                                             communicated to it by Member States.
                         Article 3                                                    Article 3
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.            This Directive is addressed to the Member States.