In a note dated 17 November addressed to the internal market and consumer protection committee and consulted by EUROPE on Wednesday 22 November, the French authorities expressed their strong misgivings about the European Commission project to introduce an electronic “services” card. They also consider that it is “rather unlikely” that it will be adopted in the short or medium term at the Council.
It should be recalled that during the presentation of the services package, the European Commission presented an initiative to introduce an electronic services card: a “dematerialised” procedure whose aim is to facilitate the administrative formalities for professionals by awarding an electronic certificate authorising the establishment or provision of services in another member state (see EUROPE 11700). The proposal provoked an immediate defensive response at the Council, which had been unable to adopt a general approach during the “Competitiveness” Council last May (see EUROPE 11718).
The French authorities say that the added value of this card “still needs to be demonstrated” and includes “a risk of circumventing the national legislation of the host member state and would subsequently return to the introduction of the country of origin principle”. The authors of the note add that, “given these substantial difficulties and the absence of a convincing response from the European Commission… the French authorities are very much against this text, which is difficult to amend”. They conclude that, “for the same reasons, a short or even medium-term adoption at the Council is rather unlikely given the hostility of many states”.
The note explains that the card project was introduced without any consideration for its coherency with other tools developed for the internal market. It also recalls that the one stop shops in the directive already seek to dematerialise the administrative procedures and that there is already a European professional card, as well as a single digital enterprise portal.
Above all, the French authorities consider that, “the complexity of exchanges between states would lead to the subsequent introduction of the country of origin principle”. In substance, they consider that the coordinating authority in the host member state would not have enough time (only two weeks) to establish whether the service provider is meeting national and European requirements. They also point out that no official translation will be provided. The note explains that it will be very difficult for the authorities to justify their refusal, given the lack of sufficient evidence in their possession. In an effort to drive the message home, they point out that the card will be awarded for an unlimited duration, without the explicit agreement of the national authority in the host member state, given that the “silence is worth an agreement” principle applies.
It is likely that the project will be buried at Parliament. According to several parliamentary and European sources, the project, whose report on the directive is being submitted by Morten Løkkegaard (ALDE, Denmark) and the report on the regulation by Anneleen Van Bossuyt (ECR, Belgium), could be the subject of a rejection during the plenary session. According to the information we have received, the electronic card is also opposed by the left and green groups, as well as certain delegations from ALDE and the EPP. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)