The Services Directive: moving towards a consensus

The “services directive” is part of the continuation of community policy and has undoubtedly created no form of debate in EU15. Indeed the directive’s field of application is restricted and the expected results on employment minimal since the services that it involves are hardly sensitive to “the flexibility of price”. However this directive establishes community logic by applying the principle of the country of origin and in this sense is vitally political in nature. The country of origin principle is one that has been acknowledged for a long time within community law and serves as a true vehicle for community integration; hence it forces the States to remove invisible customs barriers embodied by national regulations. The country of origin principle is subject to the respect of the fundamental social law of the host country except with regard to activities with low economic impact and/or that are short term. As a result the danger of “social dumping” appears to be minimal. However a better control in the application of the country of origin principle - a detailed demarcation of the duration of its application with a guarantee of national social norms by legislative measures - should simply counter a danger such as this.

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