In adopting the report by Gutiérrez Prieto Sergio (S&D, Spain) by 30 votes to 7 on Monday 4 December, MEPs brought clarification to the draft directive on the notification procedure for authorisation schemes and requirements related to services.
Prior to the voting, the rapporteur stressed the need to safeguard a legislative powers of the member states, in particular the procedures of national parliaments. The clarifications are many and technical, in particular setting out a raft of cases where notification is not obligatory and giving further detail on the consultation process and the role of the European Commission.
MEPs indicate, for example, in the Article enshrining the notification obligation, that member states are not required to submit notification of measures before they are adopted when these are emergency measures that have to be taken very quickly because of serious, unforeseeable circumstances relating to public order, public safety, public health or environmental protection. The Commission should be notified after adoption.
A further example: alerts by the European Commission within the three-month consultation period following notification of measures not compliant with the services directive (Directive 2006/123/EC) may not prevent a member state from adopting corresponding legislative, regulatory or administrative acts after the three-month period.
The European Commission proposal seeks to guarantee that the national restrictions on freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services comply with the services directive. Member states are required to inform the European Commission of any measures that seek to introduce new requirements in new authorisation schemes. The proposal sets a time-limit of three months from notification of planned measures: during this period, the Commission and the other member states will have two months to react, followed by one month for the notifying member state to give its response.
The Council agreed its position in May of this year. The member states lowered the level of ambition of the European Commission text (see EUROPE 11797). No date has yet been set for the plenary session vote. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)