A new name is being sought for the services “passport” initiative contained in the single market strategy, Internal Market Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska announced at the stakeholder conference on the proposal in Brussels on Tuesday 6 September.
“I know that some of you found the name ‘passport’ misleading”, she said before going on to ask those present to suggest possible alternatives. The problem, a source close to the matter informed EUROPE, is that “passport” suggests that it is a written document delivered by the member state of origin which would allow service providers to operate in other member states without having to comply with national rules. In fact, the initiative is to make administrative procedures easier for providers wishing to set up in another member state, where they will, of course, have to abide by national rules. “The change of name should avoid controversy like the one over the ‘Polish plumber’”, the same source said.
The commissioner would seem to be tending towards “services certificate” since the system is modelled on the European professional card (EPC) that was presented at the start of the year (see EUROPE 11470). The “services certificate” initiative is expected to be presented in the last quarter of this year.
Bienkowska has made modernisation of services her top priority in the single market strategy (see EUROPE 11417). In her view, the European services sector is outdated and confronted by a myriad of regulatory and administrative obstacles. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)