Services Directive Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Services Directive - Essay Example Services Directive The first of these is that the implementation of the application of the country of origin principle, which requires that only the law of the country in which the service provider is located should be applicable. Further, it enjoins upon the Member States not to restrict in a discriminatory way services from a provider established in another Member State. Second, empowering citizens to use the services provided by any other Member State without being delayed or discouraged by restrictive measures imposed by their country. Third, creation of a mechanism to provide assistance to citizens who use a service provided by an operator established in another Member State and fourth, the allocation of tasks between the Member State of destination and origin, in respect of the posting of workers. This directive is not applicable to non – economic and non – remunerated activities. Hence, it is not applicable to the non – remunerated activities of the governments of Member states in respect of its cultural, educational, legal and social commitments towards its citizens . The origins of this directive lie in the questions thrown up by the incident described in the next few lines; a liqueur, Crà ¨me de Cassis, was not allowed to be imported and sold in Germany by the importers Rowe-Zentral AG. The reason for this was cited as low alcoholic content for that particular type of alcoholic drink. The importer approached the European Court of Justice, which challenged the validity of national legislation that was attempting to introduce non – tariff barriers to trade. ... The importer approached the European Court of Justice, which challenged the validity of national legislation that was attempting to introduce non - tariff barriers to trade.2 One of the main bastions of the free movement of goods within the EU is the principle of mutual recognition. Its genesis lies in the above cited EU Court of Justice famous Cassis de Dijon judgment of February 20, 1979. This principle requires that, every Member State to accept products on its territory which are legally produced and marketed in another community Member State. The right of Member States is restricted to challenging this principle in cases involving risk to public safety, health or the environment. In such cases the measure taken must be in conformity with the principles of necessity and proportionality. On the 4th of November 2003, the European Commission published a communication aimed at illuminating the principle of mutual recognition.3 A businessman is often forced to abstain from selling a product, which does not satisfy the technical rules of that Member State, owing to ignorance as to how to proceed in such a discriminatory situation. A technical rule gives the specifications which define the features necessary in a product like its composition, presentation, packaging, labelling etc. The aim of this communication is to spell out the rights and methods of appeal which economic operators may derive from the principle of mutual recognition, when they encounter such difficulties. On the whole, wherever provisions of a national law are incompatible with the principle of mutual recognition, the national courts and administrations have to guarantee the full impact of the principle by removing, of their own