On Friday 9 July, the European Commission presented new recommendations to boost competition in seven professional services that it believes have high growth and job creation potential: architects, engineers, lawyers, accountants, patent agents, estate agents and tour guides.
These recommendations, which update the recommendations from 2017, start with a clear observation: “despite the clear economic benefits associated with easing the regulatory restrictions on the market for services, in general, progress across a broad range of service sectors has been almost non-existent over the last years”, the Commission notes in its communication.
The recommendations differ by profession and by Member State, and relate to national rules and practices governing access to and the provision of these services - for example by reserving large areas of activity to professionals with specific qualifications, or by limiting the company types and capital structures allowed. This regulatory framework is likely to restrict competition, as well as companies’ access to capital, according to the European institution.
See the Commission’s recommendations: https://bit.ly/3qXgQlj
See the accompanying document: https://bit.ly/3xv1gQ5 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)