2020/2020(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)

- having regard to Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of16 December 1996 concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services,

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)

- having regard to the letter of the Prime Ministers of the Member States to the President of the European Council from 26 February 2019, addressing the future development of the single market,

Amendment 100 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Highlights that a full implementation and enforcement of the Service Directive has the potential to reduce trade barriers and increase intra- EU trade in affected services;

Amendment 101 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Notes that, due to different national implementation of the Directive 2014/24/EU on Public Procurement, there still remain legal complexities and administrative barriers for tenderers to bid within a foreign market in a public procurement procedure; urges the Commission to monitor and encourage further harmonisation of public procurement procedures which would enable all tenderers within the EU a fair and equal opportunity to provide services within the single market;

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Notes that public procurement procedures in Member States often create obstacles for service providers from other Member States to compete on equal footing, especially for SMEs; highlights the need for such procedures to be framed in a way that treats all possible contenders in the same way in effect, in order to avoid any form of direct or indirect discrimination;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2d. Stresses the importance to address the remaining unjustified obstacles to the digital single market for example settling the costs of cross-border disputes, suppliers’ restrictions to selling cross- border, delivery-related matters, taxation rules, limited cross-border access to goods and services, access to information on the relevant regulatory requirements, complex administrative procedures, as well as ensuring that no new barriers should be created;

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

~~3. Recalls that the Services Directive aims to reduce fragmentation, deepen the integration of the single market, and pave the way for both businesses and consumers to achieve their full potential;~~deleted

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Recalls that the Services Directive ~~aims to~~successfully reduced fragmentation~~, deepen~~ across Member States, progressed the integration of the single market, ~~and pave~~increased the quality of services and is paving the way for both businesses and consumers to achieve their full potential;

Amendment 106 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Recalls that the Services Directive aims to reduce the fragmentation of the internal market, deepen the integration ofand the s~~ingle market~~trengthening of a single market based on transparency and fair competition, and pave the way for both businesses and consumers to achieve their full potential, and to contribute to the growth of the European economy’s competitiveness;

Amendment 107 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Recalls that the Services Directive aims to reduce fragmentation, deepen the integration of the single market, and pave the way for both businesses and consumers to achieve their full potential; observes, however, that since its entry into force it has triggered legal uncertainty with regard to its scope, deterring investments in important production sectors, like that of seaside businesses and itinerant trade;

Amendment 108 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Considers that the development of services linked to disruptive or emerging technologies require appropriate market scale and opportunities in order to justify investment and to support companies’ growth; considers that the current status of the internal market does not fully support such investment; recalls that many innovative or scaling-up companies seek to establish themselves outside of Europe once they reach a certain size; believes that in order for European companies to remain significantly headquartered and operational in Europe realisation of the freedom to provide services is needed; and where shattered internal market does offer these capabilities to a limited extent;

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Urges the Commission to revise the Services Directive, notably the provisions laid down in Chapter III section 1; points out that the application of these provisions caused uncertainty in many Member States, above all in sectors like that of seaside businesses and itinerant trade;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 b (new)

- having regard to the Special Report of European Court of Auditors on effective implementation of the Services Directive of 2016,

Amendment 110 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Regrets that large areas of activity are still excluded from the scope of the Services Directive, which undermines the coherence of the single market legal framework;

Amendment 111 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Recalls that cross-border health care services fall within the ambit of freedom to provide services as stated by the Court of Justice of the EU; notes that Cross-border Health Care Directive was adopted also on basis of Article 114 TFEU which provides for the adoption of measures for the approximation of the provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States which have as their object the establishment and functioning of the internal market; regrets that Cross-border Health Care Directive creates additional obstacles to provision of cross-border health care services when compared to the case-law of the Court of Justice applying the Treaty provisions on free movement of services; underlies the necessity that these additional obstacles are removed;

Amendment 112 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Warns, that without further reform of the services, reshoring of the production back to EU might be jeopardised and European businesses might lack a solid basis to compete globally;

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Recalls that the Services Directive and the Professional Qualifications Directive build on mutual recognition to facilitate the free movement of services; points out that the automatic mutual recognition of diplomas, qualifications, skills and competences between Member States would also have a positive impact on the internal market and the free movement of services; welcomes, in this context, the Member States’ willingness to promote the automatic mutual recognition of qualifications acquired abroad and the outcomes of learning periods spent abroad; calls, however, on the Member States to extend automatic mutual recognition to all levels of education and to improve or introduce the requisite procedures as soon as possible; calls, further, for the European Qualifications Framework to be promoted and its application to be facilitated throughout the European Union, so that it becomes a widely accepted recognition instrument;

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Recalls that the Services Directive and the Professional Qualifications Directive build on mutual recognition to facilitate the free movement of services; recalls with regard to the professional sector that restrictions and regulations, especially taking diverging traditions between Member States into account, safeguarding the provision of high quality services, do not per se constitute a burden to the functioning of the market for services;

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Recalls that the Services Directive and the Professional Qualifications Directive build on mutual recognition to facilitate the free movement of services; welcomes the Commission efforts on undue restrictions of professional qualifications and considers that the infringement policy should remain active and vigilant when Member States do not comply with the legislation and do not apply the Commission’s recommendations in these matters;

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Recalls that the Services Directive and the Professional Qualifications Directive build on ~~mut~~the principle of equal tre~~cognition to facilitate the free movement of services~~atment and the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of nationality;

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Recalls that the Services Directive ~~and~~, the Professional Qualifications Directive and the Posting of Workers Directive build on mutual recognition to facilitate the free movement of services;

Amendment 118 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Regrets that the Commission is not reacting to unfair competition, both online and offline, which affects certain sectors regulated by the Professional Qualifications Directive; notes that some Member States have higher standards than others and that the application of the Directive does not create a level playing field in sectors like that of seaside businesses and itinerant trade;

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Commission to issue updated guidelines on the Services Directive with the objective to strengthen enforcement and harmonisation across Member States;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the Services Directive and the Professional Qualifications Directive are key instruments for addressing the barriers to the free movement of services within the European Union, but the potential of the single market for services is still largely untapped;deleted

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Regre~~Highlights that Member States ~~frequent~~can legitimately use reasons of public interest to ~~insulate their domestic market; highlights that requirements such as territorial restrictions and economic needs tests create unjustified obstacles to~~limit or restrict cross-border services provisions as ruled by the European Court of Justice; recalls in this regard, that this entails amongst other reasons the protection of consumers, the environment and social policy objectives and thus these should not be regarded as restrictive measures for cross-border trade services provisions which would otherwise add legal uncertainty; underlines that the principle of the country of destination respects local regulations including rules on employment law and those laid down in collective agreements; reiterates that regulated professions may be necessary for the protection of consumers, the public interest and the rule of law; recognizes that some recognizes that some requirements for cross- border services establishment; such as territorial restrictions and economic needs tests must be justified in the light of public policy concern;

Amendment 121 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Re~~gret~~calls that Member States frequently use reasons of public interest to insulate their domestic market; highlights that requirements such as territorial restrictions and economic needs tests create unjustified obstacles to cross- border establishmentmay use overriding reasons relating to the public interest for the protection of their domestic market; stresses that any future revision of the service directive should enlarge this provision together with other derogations and limitations provided for in the service directive and should not introduce the country of origin principle;

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Regrets~~Points out that Member States ~~frequently us~~can legitimately invoke reasons of public interest to insulate their domestic market; ~~highlights that requirements such as territorial restrictions and economic needs tests create unjustified obstacles to cross- border establishment;~~

Amendment 123 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Regrets that Member States frequently use unjustified reasons of public interest to insulate their domestic market; highlights that requirements such as territorial restrictions, mandatory language requirements and economic needs tests create unjustified obstacles to cross-border establishment;

Amendment 124 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Regrets that Member States fre~~quent~~peatedly use reasons of public interest to insulate their domestic market; highlights that requirements such as territorial restrictions and economic needs tests create unjustified obstacles to cross-border establishment;

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Regrets that Member States frequently use reasons of public interest to insulate their domestic market; highlights that requirements such as territorial restrictions and economic needs tests create unjustified and disproportionate obstacles to cross-border establishment;

Amendment 126 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Regrets that Member States frequently use reasons of public interest to insulate their domestic market; highlights that requirements such as territorial restrictions and economic needs tests create unjustified obstacles to cross-border e~~stablishment~~xchanges;

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Regrets that Member States frequently use reasons of public interest to insulate their domestic market; highlights that requirements such as territorial restrictions and economic needs tests create ~~unjustified~~ obstacles to cross-border establishment;

Amendment 128 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that services of general economic interest (SGEI), including social services of general interest (SSGI), are secured within a framework of universal access, high quality, affordability and clear financing rules; believes that the Commission should take initiatives using all options available, based upon and consistent with Article 14 and Protocol 26 of the Treaty, and ensuring that SGEI and SSGI can be operated at appropriate level, respecting the principle of subsidiarity;

Amendment 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Urges the Commission to open a constructive dialogue with the Member States in order to settle and surpass the disputes concerning the application of the Services Directive through careful appraisal of the legal arguments adopted by Member States and inherent in national law that do not prejudice full completion of the EU market for services, such as the possibility of deeming State- owned maritime concessions to be concessions of goods rather than of services;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the Services Directive and the Professional Qualifications Directive are key instruments for addressing the barriers to the free movement of services within the European Union~~, but the potential of the single market for services is still largely untapped~~;

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Urges against the citing of COVID-19 as a justification for introducing protectionist measures above already enforced actions, unless appropriately justified; instructs the Commission to remain vigilant as to any abuse of this justification; recalls that use of national emergency powers has been subject to scrutiny however the Commission should continue to monitor the situation across all Member States even as the immediate risks posed by COVID-19 come back under control;

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Stresses that non-discriminatory and proportionate rules governing professions are essential in order to strike a balance between, on the one hand, maintaining quality in the provision of services in the EU internal market and, therefore, guaranteeing a high level of consumer protection, and, on the other, making it possible for cross-border service providers to enter the market;

Amendment 132 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Regrets that the Member States sometimes use the concept of non- economic services of general interest to exclude whole sectors from the scope of the internal market rules, when that is not warranted by the general interest they claim to protect; underlines the necessity for defining the term by way of EU secondary legislation to avoid national fragmentation and different interpretations;

Amendment 133 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Underlines that the integrity and functioning of the Single Market greatly depends on a seamlessly functioning customs union; insists that the Commission ensures that custom controls throughout the EU follow the same standards, by means of a direct unified customs control mechanism, in coordination with Member States and in full compliance with the principle of subsidiarity;

Amendment 134 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Recalls the specific status regulated professions have within the context of providing quality services in the single market and their role in protecting public interest; highlights that this specific status should not be used in such a way as to maintain national monopolies in service provision resulting in the fragmentation of the single market;

Amendment 135 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls th~~e importance of~~at the Commission proposal for a revised services notification procedure~~; regret~~ could undermine the public authorities’ right to regulate in view of protecting public interest and could pose excessive restrictions to the democratic regulatory process; notes that the proposal could not be adopted due to the lack of an agreement in Council;

Amendment 136 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls the ~~importance of the Commission proposal for a revised s~~position of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee regarding the proposed notification procedure; is convinced that this proposal is a fair starting point for the negotiations with Member States and the Commission; regrets that no agreement has yet been reached between the institutions, as there is still a need to clarify the scope of the notifications obligation, which also relates to the handling of urban planning and its notification to the Commission; underlines that the delegation of power to the Commission must under no circumstances prevent a Member State from adopting legislation; highlights that trilogue negotiations on the Services nNotification ~~procedure;~~s Directive should resume as soon as possible to resolve these outstanding issues regrets that the proposal could not be adopted due to the lack of an agreement in Council;

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Recalls the importance of the~~Considers that the European Commission’s proposal for a revised services notification procedure~~; regrets that the proposal could not be adopted due to the lack of an agreement in~~ provides for a reporting procedure, which clearly contradicts the principle of subsidiarity; considers that the Commission is overstepping its mandate; calls on the Commission to withdraw this proposal in view of the opposition of Parliament and the Council;

Amendment 138 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls the importance of the Commission proposal for a revised services notification procedure, the objective of which is to prevent the introduction of new regulatory barriers through a partnership approach between Member States and the Commission; regrets that the proposal could not be adopted due to the lack of an agreement in Council;

Amendment 139 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls the importance of the Commission proposal for a revised services notification procedure; regrets that the proposal could not be adopted due to the lack of an agreement in Council; underlines that the future compromise should not water down any rules already in force and rather should improve the way in which those rules function;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the Services Directive and the Professional Qualifications Directive are key instruments for addressing the ~~barriers to the~~ free movement of services within the European Union, but thsome potential of the single market for services is still ~~largely~~in parts untapped;

Amendment 140 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls the importance of the Commission proposal for a revised services notification procedure; regrets that the proposal could not be adopted due to the lack of an agreement in Council; calls on the Commission and Council to make a renewed effort to adapt the services notification procedure urgently;

Amendment 141 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 142 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 143 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Note~~Recalls that the ~~purpose of the Commission’s legislative proposal for a European services e-card was to address administrative barriers that remain in place; underlin~~Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee rejected the European services e-card proposal; acknowledges that ~~such~~ barriers are costly to services providers, ~~and continue to constitute a significant disincentive to the cross-border prov~~calls upon the European Commission ~~of services in the single market~~to assess the situation;

Amendment 144 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Note~~Considers that the purpose of the Commission’s legislative proposal for a European services e-card was tonot appropriate, as, under the guise of addressing administrative barriers ~~that remain in place; underlines that such barriers are costly to services providers, and continue to constitute a significant disincentive to the cross-border provision of service~~, it ended up creating new administrative burdens; asserts, moreover, that the Commission’s proposal aimed indirectly at reintroducing the principle of applying the law of the Member State of origin of the service provider; welcomes the rejection of this proposal by Parliament; calls ion the ~~single market~~Commission to definitively withdraw its proposal;

Amendment 145 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Notes that the purpose of the Commission’s legislative proposal for a European services e-card was to address administrative barriers that remain in place~~; underlines that such barriers~~ for secondary establishment situations; underlines that barriers such as lack of legal clarity and certainty, as well as lack of mutual recognition are costly to services providers, and continue to constitute a significant disincentive to the cross-border provision of services in the single market;

Amendment 146 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Notes that the purpose of the Commission’s legislative proposal for a European services e-card was to address administrative barriers that remain in place; underlines that such barriers are costly to services providers, especially SME with limited financial and human capital and continue to constitute a significant disincentive to the cross-border provision of services in the single market;

Amendment 147 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Notes that the purpose of the Commission’s legislative proposal for a European services e-card was to address administrative barriers that remain in place; underlines that such barriers are costly to services providers, and continue to constitute a significant disincentive to the cross-border provision of services in the single market; Underlines that administrative barriers are costly to services providers, and continue to constitute a significant disincentive to the cross-border provision of services in the single market especially for SMEs; regrets that the Commission did not propose any new legislative initiative that would address it in the recently published Commission Work Programme;

Amendment 148 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 149 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Urges the Commission to define the structure and modus operandi of the newly created Single Market Enforcement Task-Force (SMET), including its practical dimension; emphasizes the need for the task force to be capable of providing solutions and not limited to simply discussing problems; believes that the types of issues that exist are largely known but that the real value the task force can provide is in ensuring consistency of implementation of all Single Market strategies and the sharing of data and metrics on accomplishments;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

Amendment 150 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Believes that SMET should establish an open and transparent database compiling specific national non- tariffs barriers and ongoing infringements procedures; believes that such tool should allow for anonymous contributions so as to provide protections for those raising concerns;

Amendment 151 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Invites the Commission and Council to create a group of experts from Member States specialising in non-tariff barriers in the Single Market, which will support the Commission’s services when analysing cases brought to the attention of the Commission; considers that this group should support the activities of SMET and may provide a forum to discuss in detail provisions or practices which constitute actual burdens for the companies;

Amendment 152 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Urges Member States to ensure the proper implementation and enforcement of current legislation, ~~and to avoid gold-~~thereby facilitating the cross-border provision of services, the free movement of workers and ensuring a level platying ~~and unnecessary requirements, thereby facilitating the cross-border provision of services and ensuring a level playing field;~~ field for both businesses and workers to prevent competition based on low quality services, social dumping, precarious working conditions whilst guaranteeing the highest level of consumer protection; calls on the Commission to assess how a European Social Security register as well as a European Social Security Number could help and could be introduced to enable real time checks of the social security status of posted workers by labour inspection authorities and better combat deceiving practices in the single market;

Amendment 154 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Urges Member States to ensure the proper implementation of current legislation, to notify the Commission of any new and draft laws, regulations or administrative provisions which set requirements as referred to in Article 15(6) of the Services Directive, together with the reasons for those requirements, and to avoid gold-plating and unnecessary requirements, thereby facilitating the cross- border provision of services and ensuring a level playing field;

Amendment 155 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Urges Member States to ensure the proper implementation of current legislation, ~~and~~ to avoid gold-plating and unnecessary requirements and to introduce straightforward electronic procedures for obtaining the documents needed for the cross-border provision of services, thereby facilitating the cross-border provision of services and ensuring a level playing field;

Amendment 156 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Urges Member States to ensure the proper implementation of current legislation, and to avoid gold-plating and unnecessary requirements, thereby facilitating the cross-border provision of services and ensuring a level playing field; underlines that an increased cross-border mobility can be reached through effectuation of the principle of mutual recognition, as well as through harmonisation of rules across Member States;

Amendment 157 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Urges Member States to ensure the proper implementation of current legislation, and to avoid ~~gold-plating and unnecessary~~unjustified requirements, thereby facilitating the cross- border provision of services and ensuring a level playing field;

Amendment 158 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Stresses that persons with disabilities continue to face multiple obstacles that make it difficult or impossible to fully benefit the free movement of services; calls on the Member States to implement without delay the European Accessibility Act, in order to effectively remove barriers for citizens with disabilities and ensure the availability of accessible services, as well as the suitability of the conditions under which services are provided; highlights the paramount importance of achieving a fully accessible Single Market that ensures the equal treatment and economic and social integration of people with disabilities;

Amendment 159 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Calls on the Commission to provide structured assistance and issue guidance to Member States on how to conduct ex-ante proportionality assessments of new national regulation of services according to the Proportionality Test Directive;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the Services Directive and the Professional Qualifications Directive are key instruments for addressing the remaining and the newly introduced barriers to the free movement of services within the European Union, but the potential of the single market for services is still largely untapped;

Amendment 160 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Calls for state companies from Member States which unjustifiably hinder or prevent cross-border services to be excluded from the freedom to provide services;

Amendment 161 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the national parliaments to actively engage in supporting the enforcement of existing rules, and to exercise their powers of scrutiny over national authorities and European institutions; welcomes, in this connection, the extensive use of the reasoned opinion procedure by many national parliaments in the context of the proposal for a European services e-card and the proposal for a notification procedure, with a view to addressing the shortcomings;

Amendment 162 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the national parliaments to actively engage in supporting theffective enforcement of existing rules, and to exercise their powers of scrutiny over national authorities;

Amendment 163 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Urges ~~stakeholders, the business community and~~ social partners to play their part in calling on governments to ~~revitalise~~assure their proper involvement in upcoming legislation in view of the European services sector;

Amendment 164 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Urges stakeholders, the business community and social partners to play their part in calling on governments to revitalise the European services sector; underlines that a fair and rules based single market for services where high social and environmental standards, quality services and fair competition should be promoted by all stakeholders;

Amendment 165 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Urges stakeholders, the business community and social partners to play their part in calling on governments to revitalise the European services sector and to strengthen both sectoral and cross- sectoral interoperability in areas including environment, transport and health to work towards interlinked cross- border services;

Amendment 166 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Urges stakeholders, the business community and social partners to play their part in calling on governments to revitalise the European services sector; condemns administrative efforts aimed at disciplining entrepreneurs confronting unjustified barriers;

Amendment 167 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Urges stakeholders, the business community and social partners to keep playing their irreplaceable part in calling on governments to revitalise the European services sector;

Amendment 168 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Urges stakeholders, the business community and social partners to play their part in calling on and supporting the governments to revitalise the European services sector;

Amendment 169 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2

Ensuring effective enforcement of existing legislation

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas liberalisation of services came along with the assumption that competition would be synonymous with accessible prices and better quality services, while in fact it often lead to a domination of a very small number of large companies, increasingly precarious employment and increased costs for consumers and degradation of the services provided;

Amendment 170 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Notes that the free movement of services is at the core of the single market, and could provide substantial economic gains, provided there is sufficient and active enforcement by local and regional authorities, national courts, and the Commission;deleted

Amendment 171 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Notes that the free movement of services is at the core of the single market, and could provide substantial economic gains, when the balance between the market economy and social integration of the European Union, as laid down in Article 3 TEU, is respected; provided there is sufficient and active enforcement by local and regional authorities, national courts, and the Commission, and compliance by businesses with national and European regulations;

Amendment 172 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Notes that the free movement of services is at the core of the single market, and could provide substantial economic gains, with high environmental, consumer and workers protection standards as a prerequisite, provided there is sufficient and active enforcement by local and regional authorities, national courts, and the Commission;

Amendment 173 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

Amendment 174 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Stresses for physical cross-border services, during a crisis, the closing of borders must be done with care, based on better coordination between Member States and urgent efforts to reduce waiting time at the border; underlines that the Member States should also coordinate the adoption of specific transport related regulation with a goal to remove border controls and to lift regulator measures as soon as possible; stresses that, as national confinement rules are lifted, immediate focus must be directed towards the removal of border controls;

Amendment 175 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Urges the Commission to make use of existing instruments in the single market for services, especially for the mutual recognition of regulated professions; highlights that the European Professional card is only used for five regulated professions and is not used to its full potential and therefore calls on the Commission to intensify the use of the European Professional card and accelerate the extension to other regulated professions;

Amendment 176 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

Amendment 177 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

Amendment 178 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Points out that the price for inadequate implementation is paid by businesses and consumers across the European Union; encourages the Commission to prioritise enforcement action, and to reduce barriers in areas of significant economic impact, amongst other reasons such as market structure, insufficient knowledge of European or national rules by businesses engaged in cross-border activities, language or culture the inadequate implementation can have negative effects on businesses and consumers across the European Union; encourages the Commission to more actively engage in enforcement action, including the timely conduct of infringement procedures, and to reduce barriers in areas of where the impact leads to the growth of employment with fair wages and fair working conditions;

Amendment 179 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. Underlines that the posting of workers Directive is a key element to improve working conditions of posted workers while protecting the economy of the destination country against wage dumping and unfair competition;

Amendment 180 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

Amendment 181 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Highlights that overriding reasons of public interest are ~~too~~ often invoked by Member States ~~in a way that damages~~to call into question the application of the single market for services~~; calls on the Commis~~, which is a siogn t~~o improve the monitoring of Member State performance in transposing and implementing~~hat this market is not suited to the needs of citizens and Member States; calls on the Commission to take note of this antagonism and to take all necessary action in this regard, in particular by removing the inappropriate legislation;

Amendment 182 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Highlights that overriding reasons of public interest ~~are too often invok~~may be used by Member States in ~~a way that damages the single market for services; calls on the Commission to improve the monitoring of Member State performance in transposing and implementing legislation~~order to address public policy concerns;

Amendment 183 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. ~~Highlights that overriding reasons of public interest are too often invoked by Member States in a way that damages the single market for services; c~~Calls on the Commission to improve the monitoring of Member State performance in transposing and implementing legislation;

Amendment 184 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Highlights that overriding reasons of public interest ~~are too often~~ invoked by Member States ~~in a way that damages the single market for services~~often justify provisions restricting the access to or the pursuit of services where these provisions are proportionate as confirmed in many ruled case-laws of the European Court of Justice; notes that many cases of overriding reasons of public interest are based on quality and consumer protection, and its justified exceptions are non-discriminatory, proportionate, appropriate and purposeful; calls on the Commission to ~~improv~~continue the monitoring of Member State performance in transposing and implementing legislation and to develop with Member States, social partners and stakeholders transparent and participative evaluations that should not only be based on quantitative but also qualitative criteria;

Amendment 185 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. ~~Highlights~~Supports the view that overriding reasons of public interest ~~are too often~~should only be invoked by Member States ~~in a way that damages the single market for services~~where it is legitimate; calls on the Commission to improve the monitoring of Member State performance and quality in transposing ~~and~~, implementing and enforcing legislation;

Amendment 186 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Highlights that overriding reasons of public interest are too often invoked by Member States in a way that damages the single market for services; ~~calls on the Commission to improve the monitoring of Member State performance in transposing and implementing legislation;~~

Amendment 187 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Highlights that overriding reasons of public interest are too often invoked by Member States in a way that damages the single market for services; calls on the Commission to improve the monitoring of Member State performance in transposing and implementing legislation; recalls the important role of the newly formed Single Market Enforcement Task Force as a means to address these issues,

Amendment 188 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Highlights that overriding reasons of public interest are too often invoked by Member States in a way that damages the single market for services; calls on the Commission to improve the monitoring of Member State performance in transposing and implementing legislation including an annual report undertaking these issues;

Amendment 189 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Notes that the freedom to provide services across the EU is linked with the formal recognition of professional qualifications by the service-hosting Member State; welcomes the existing legislation addressing the professional qualifications and especially those related to regulated professions;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas services account for around 70 % of all economic activity in the EU and a similar proportion of its employment, while the share of services in intra-EU trade is only around 20 %; recalls that there are a number of services that have complex supply chains and are therefore unsusceptible to trade, for example certain services of general economic interest, geographically bound services or where SMEs have no interest to engage in cross-border provisions; whereas services may necessitate regulation with regard to local requirements and circumstances that are in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity or Protocol 26 of the TFEU;

Amendment 190 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)

13b. Regrets the fact that as many as twenty Member States have been late in transposing the Services Directive into national law; recalls in particular that the range of certain instruments, such as the Points of Single Contact, are still limited and that service providers are not sufficiently informed about all the possibilities provided by the Services Directive, and therefore calls on the European Commission to inform interested parties through among others, internet advertising on the possibilities provided by the Directive, in particular the Points of Single Contact mechanism;

Amendment 191 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)

13c. Stresses that the establishment of a dynamic market for cross-border service provision in the Union is a key component of the future competitiveness of the European economy; calls on the European Commission that the digital services legislative package addresses remaining barriers to the cross-border provision of services in order to encourage entrepreneurs to offer their services online to consumers in other countries;

Amendment 192 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Encourages the Commission to make use of all means at its disposal to ensure full enforcement of existing rules; calls for fast-track infringement procedures to be applied whenever major breaches of the relevant legislation are identified;deleted

Amendment 193 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

Amendment 194 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Encourages the Commission to make use of all means at its disposal to ensure full enforcement of existing rules; calls for ~~fast-track~~the assessment of alternative resolution mechanisms and infringement procedures to be applied whenever ~~major~~ breaches of the ~~relevant~~ legislation are identified and other approaches prove ineffective;

Amendment 195 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Encourages the Commission to make use of all means at its disposal to ensure full enforcement of existing rules; calls for ~~fast-track~~ infringement procedures to be applied whenever ~~major~~ breaches of the relevant legislation are identified;

Amendment 196 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Encourages the Commission to make use of all means at its disposal to ensure full enforcement of existing rules; calls for fast-track infringement procedures to be applied whenever ~~major~~ breaches of the relevant legislation which contravene to the proper functioning of the internal market are identified;

Amendment 197 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Encourages the Commission to make use of all means at its disposal to ensure full enforcement of existing rules; calls for fast-track infringement procedures ~~to be applied~~ whenever major breaches of the relevant ~~legislation~~rules are identified and unproportioned burdens introduced;

Amendment 198 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Highlights that Member States and Regions are experiencing obstacles when it comes to the full implementation of existing legislation on certain production sectors which do not fit the rules foreseen;

Amendment 199 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Calls for ~~increased vigour from the Commission to ensure~~an efficient coordination and exchange of information between Member States ~~so as to avoid duplication of procedures and checks for the cross-border provision of services;~~ to effectively detect abuses and exploitation; Underlines that in many Member States sectoral social partners have taken joint initiatives and actions to improve the enforcement of the existing legislation; highlights that the sectoral social partners have specific in house knowledge and experiences and are very well placed to determine which enforcement and actions are needed to tackle undeclared work, social fraud, abuse and circumvention, while at the same time foster genuine entrepreneurship;

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)

- having regard to Directive 2011/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 on the application of patients’ rights in cross- border healthcare,

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas services account for around 70 % of all economic activity in the EU and a similar proportion of its employment, while the share of services in intra-EU trade is ~~only around 20 %~~estimated at around 20 %; whereas it should be noted that many service providers offer their services in another Member State, by setting up local subsidiaries in that specific Member State, having the advantage of offering their services closer to their clients; whereas, the economic activities of the local subsidiaries are not covered by the data on the share of services in the intra-EU trade;

Amendment 200 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Calls for increased vigour from the Commission to ensure efficient and cost- saving coordination and exchange of information between Member States so as to avoid duplication of procedures and checks for the cross-border provision of services;

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Urges the Commission to take action against the so-called letterbox companies, which are artificially set up to circumvent applicable legislation in a host country, while clearly abusing the freedom of establishment;

Amendment 202 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Urges the Commission and the Member States to deliver ~~on the~~a schedule of specific actions in line with the priorities set by SMET, the Commission Communication “Identifying and addressing barriers to the Single Market” (COM(2020) 936 final) and by establishing a new long- term action plan for better implementation and enforcement of single market rules, so as to maximise the potential of the single market for services.;

Amendment 203 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Urges the Commission and the Member States to deliver on the long-term action plan ~~for better implementation and enforcement of single market rules so as to maximise the potential of the single market for services~~to evaluate how single market rules could contribute to a socio- ecological just transition.

Amendment 204 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Notes that preliminary ruling procedure is the other main instrument for ensuring the enforcement of single market rules; regrets that this procedure is often cumbersome and lasts for too long, which represents a problem for the service providers and recipients in the single market; calls for the Court of Justice of the EU to create a fast-track procedure to enable such cases be resolved within maximum time period of six months after receiving the files from the national courts.

Amendment 205 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Highlights the importance of services which facilitate a measurable reduction of the environmental footprint (“green services”)1a; calls on the European Commission to initiate work on a common definition of green services; __________________ 1aEuropean Parliament Policy Department briefing “The European Services Sector and the Green Transition” (2020)

Amendment 206 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)

16b. Urges Member States to increase awareness and make better use of the existing schemes1a for promoting green services in public procurement1a in order to reach a circular economy; __________________ 1aEuropean Parliament Policy Department briefing “The European Services Sector and the Green Transition”(2020)

Amendment 207 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3

Advancing regulatory ~~clarity: national inform~~information and clarity: enhancing the capacity of the single digital gateway with interlinked national po~~rtals~~ints of single contact

Amendment 208 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3

Advancing regulatory clarity: ~~national information portals~~strengthening the role of Points of Single Contact

Amendment 209 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. UNotes that the coronavirus crisis has highlighted a lack of regulatory clarity and the lack of effective communication between Member States of often changing regulations; underlines the importance of the single digital gateway as an online access point for EU and national information, procedures and assistance services on the single market;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas services account for around 70 % of all economic activity in the EU and a similar proportion of its employment, while the share of services in intra-EU trade is only around 20 %; whereas reasons for which professionals may be reticent about working in another country are manifold and can be “soft” barriers and do not always relate principally to regulation issues;

Amendment 210 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Underlines the importance of the single digital gateway and the points of single contact as an online access point for EU and national information, procedures and assistance services on the single market, as foreseen in the services directive;

Amendment 211 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Underlines the key importance of the single digital gateway as an online access point for EU and national information, procedures and assistance services on the single market;

Amendment 212 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. ~~Underlines the importance~~Notes the utility of the single digital gateway as an online access point for EU and national information, procedures and assistance services on the single market;

Amendment 213 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Recommends that Member States implement the single digital gateway in an citizen and SME-friendly way, and developing the points of single contact from mere regulatory portals to fully functioning portals ; this should be achieved by providing user- centric information, assistance services and procedures on the gateway and through linking the single digital gateway with the points of single contact, so as to make it a virtual one-stop shop as far as possible, and ensure a maximum level of user- centricity; Proposes to interlink the points of single contact and the single digital gateway as well as the adoption of design standards of the Europa Web Guide (the official rulebook of the European Commission’s web presence) to guarantee an user- friendly and recognisable interface of all points of single contact;

Amendment 214 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Recommends that Member States implement the single digital gateway in an SME-friendly way, by providing user- centric information, assistance services and simplified procedures on the gateway, so as to make it a virtual one-stop shop as far as possible, and ensure a maximum level of user- centricity;

Amendment 215 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Recommends that Member States implement the single digital gateway in an ~~SME~~enterprise-friendly way, by providing user- centric information, assistance services and procedures on the gateway, so as to make it a virtual one-stop shop as far as possible, and ensure a maximum level of user- centricity;

Amendment 216 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Recommends that the Commission and the Member States systematically provide user-friendly information via the single digital gateway for all new EU legislation that creates rights or obligations for citizens and businesses; highlights that transparency, equal conditions and non- discrimination are essential to free movement, urges the Commission and Member States to continue strengthening the trust of consumers;

Amendment 217 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Recommends that the Commission and the Member States systematically provide user-friendly information ~~via~~at the points of single contact through the single digital gateway for all ~~new~~ EU legislation that creates rights or obligations for citizens and businesses,; recommends that the Commission and Member States consult social partners on which information should be included;

Amendment 218 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Urges Member States, in view of the current crisis, to speed up their digitalisation work especially for procedures that affect businesses; notes the delays in the implementation of the regulation (EU) 2018/1724, therefore urges the Commission to re-double the efforts of those involved and in particular to actively support underperforming Member States;

Amendment 219 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. UNotes that Member States still need to ensure that most administrative procedures regarding company establishment and the freedom to provide services can be completed in a digital environment; urges Member States, particularly in view of the current crisis, to speed up their digitalisation work especially for procedures that affect businesses;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas services account for around 70 % of all economic activity in the EU and a similar proportion of its employment, and in particular given that as many as 9 out of 10 of new jobs in European Union are created in this sector, while the share of services in intra- EU trade is only around 20 %, thus generating just 5% of EU’s GDP;

Amendment 220 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. ~~Urg~~Invites Member States, in view of the current crisis, to speed up their digitalisation work especially for procedures that affect businesses, although aware that there might be different paces of development;

Amendment 221 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Urges Member States~~, in view of the current crisis,~~ to speed up their digitalisation work ~~especially for procedures that affect businesses~~to enable businesses and citizens to conduct administrative procedures remotely and online;

Amendment 222 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Urges Member States, in view of the current crisis, to speed up their digitalisation work ~~especially for procedures that affect businesses~~;

Amendment 223 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Urges Member States, in view of the current crisis, to speed up their digitalisation work especially for procedures that affect businesses, and consumers;

Amendment 224 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Recommends that the Commission assists national authorities in each Member State with creating a national single market information portal that provides consumers, employees, and businesses with the following information: (a) companies must apply within the Member State in question; (b) the action companies must take to comply with these rules, summarised by procedure, with step-by-step guidance; (c) the documents companies must have available, and within what timeframe; (d) the authorities companies must contact to obtain necessary authorisation etc.;deleted the national and EU rules that

Amendment 225 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 – introductory part

Amendment 226 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 – introductory part

21. Recommends that the Commission assists national authorities in each Member State with creating a national single market information portal in multilingual format that provides consumers, employees, and businesses with the following information:

Amendment 227 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 – introductory part

21. Recommends that the Commission assists national authorities in each Member State with ~~creating a national single market information portal that provides consumers, employe~~strengthening the role of Points of Single Contact that should provide businesses, and ~~business~~other interested parties with the following information:

Amendment 228 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 – introductory part

21. Recommends that the Commission assists national authorities in each Member State with ~~creating a national single market information portal~~improving the points of single contact that provides consumers, employees, and businesses with the following information:

Amendment 229 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 – point a

~~(a) the national and EU rules that companies must apply within the Member State in question;~~deleted

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas services account for around 70 3% of ~~all economic activity in the EU and a similar proportion of its~~the EU GDP and contributes to 74%1a of employment, while the share of services in intra-EU trade is only around 20 %; __________________ 1aEurostat, “The European economy since the start of the millennium”, accessed June 6, 2020.

Amendment 230 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 – point a

(a) the national and EU rules that companies must apply within the Member State in question; and information for employees, including employment law, health and safety protocols applicable collective agreements, social partner organisations and counselling structures for workers and employees where they can inform themselves on their rights;

Amendment 231 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 – point b

~~(b) the action companies must take to comply with these rules, summarised by procedure, with step-by-step guidance;~~deleted

Amendment 232 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 – point c

~~(c) the documents companies must have available, and within what timeframe;~~deleted

Amendment 233 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 – point d

~~(d) the authorities companies must contact to obtain necessary authorisation etc.;~~deleted

Amendment 234 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 – point d a (new)

(da) Underlines that the national information portals should not only consolidate the existing contact points under one general access portal, but also include necessary information about any other business-related requirements that are mandatory for a company to comply with in the relevant Member State; notes that examples of the above include professional qualifications requirements, VAT (rates, registration requirements, reporting obligations, etc.), income taxes, social security and labour law obligations;

Amendment 235 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 – point d a (new)

(da) facilitate the communication between involved authorities and serve as an intermediary should deadlines be disrespected or enquiries are unanswered;

Amendment 236 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 – point d b (new)

(db) Stresses that all relevant legislative and administrative information, as well as any relevant documents provided by each national information portal should be available in English in addition to the local language;

Amendment 237 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

Amendment 238 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Recommends that national information portals should assist foreign companies wishing to do business within the Member State in question, as well as local companies wishing to export services and goods to other Member States; notes that this could be done by identifying – in the local language – which requirements, procedures etc. they must comply with in other Member States, as well as sector specific information on professional qualifications;

Amendment 239 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Recommends that ~~national information portals~~Points of Single Contact should assist foreign companies wishing to do business within the Member State in question, as well as local companies wishing to export services and goods to other Member States;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the perception that the single market for services should be exclusively assessed from an economic and business point of view has exhausted its own potential; calls for the establishment of a balance between economic rights and social rights, integrating consumers’ and citizens’ interests into legislating the single market for services;

Amendment 240 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Recommends that ~~national information portals~~points of single contact should assist foreign companies wishing to do business within the Member State in question, as well as local companies wishing to export services and goods to other Member States;

Amendment 241 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Recommends that national information portals should assist, and guide foreign companies wishing to do business within the Member State in question, as well as local companies wishing to export services and goods to other Member States;

Amendment 242 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Recommends that national information portals should also assist foreign companies wishing to do business within the Member State in question, as well as local companies wishing to export services and goods to other Member States;

Amendment 243 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

~~23. Urges cooperation between Member States’ national information portals to ensure that companies, employees and citizens are provided with correct, comprehensive and up-to-date information;~~deleted

Amendment 244 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Urges cooperation between Member States’ national information portals to ensure that companies, employees and citizens are provided with correct, comprehensive multilingual and up-to-date information;

Amendment 245 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Urges cooperation between Member States~~’ national information portals~~ in view of the single digital gateway to ensure that companies, employees and citizens are provided with correct, comprehensive and up-to-date information;

Amendment 246 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Urges cooperation between Member States’ ~~national information portals to ensure that companies, employees and citizen~~Points of Single Contact to ensure that companies and other interested parties are provided with correct, comprehensive and up-to-date information;

Amendment 247 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Urges cooperation between Member States’ national information portals to ensure that companies, employees and citizens are provided with prompt, correct, comprehensive and up-to- date information;

Amendment 248 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

~~24. Calls for the Commission to play a coordinating role in information sharing between national information portals;~~deleted

Amendment 249 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Calls for the Commission to play a coordinating role in information sharing between national information portals; underlines that such cooperation should also ensure knowledge sharing across Member States, both in terms of communication ‘best practice’ and in terms of administrative and regulatory barriers in the Single Market;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the increase in worker mobility will allow workers to move more freely to where their skills are needed, which will help improve Europe’s competitiveness and economic dynamism;

Amendment 250 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Calls ~~for~~on the Commission to play a coordinating role in the exchange of information ~~sharing~~ between the national information portals and, where appropriate, to provide guidelines to help Member States streamline procedures, in particular for SMEs;

Amendment 251 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Calls for the Commission and the European Labour Authority (ELA) to play a coordinating role in information sharing between ~~national information portals~~the points of single contact;

Amendment 252 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Calls for the Commission to play a coordinating role in information sharing between ~~national information portals~~Points of Single Contact;

Amendment 253 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

~~25. Stresses that all national information portals should be accessible through the single digital gateway;~~deleted

Amendment 254 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

~~25. Stresses that all national information portals should be accessible through the single digital gateway;~~deleted

Amendment 255 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Stresses that all ~~national information portals should be accessible through the single digital gateway;~~ points of single contact should be accessible through the single digital gateway, providing information and offering administrative services of the Member States in an accessible jargon and in full availability, including trained helpdesk staff, which will provide effective user-friendly support, in addition, feedback mechanisms should be introduced to the points of single contact to ensure a progressive development of the user- centricity-component;

Amendment 256 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

~~26. Urges the Commission to ensure that any new directives or regulations concerning the single market include a requirement to establish a national information contact point;~~deleted

Amendment 257 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Urges the Commission to ensure that any new directives or regulations concerning the single market include a requirement to ~~establish~~indicate a national information contact point and devote adequate resources to such contact points, as are necessary to fulfil these additional functions;

Amendment 258 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Urges the Commission to ensure that any new directives or regulations concerning the single market include a requirement to establish a national information contact point; asks for a due regard of synergies with existing contact points;

Amendment 259 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Urges the Commission to ensure that any new directives ~~or regul~~, regulations or recommendations concerning the single market for services include a requirement to est~~ablish a national information contact point~~rengthen Points of Single Contact with new and necessary functions;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas only two thirds of service activities are falling within the scope of Services Directive, which generate around 46% of the EU’s GDP;

Amendment 260 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Regrets that the points of single contact are not widely known to businesses and therefore calls upon the Commission to increase the public familiarity by a European campaign for the single digital gateway and the points of single contact introducing their functions; emphasises that a special communication for the government bodies should be set up in order to ensure understanding of the points of single contacts’ purpose by implementing them in their national e-government strategies;

Amendment 261 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4

Providing evaluation: the single market scoreboard, European Semester and restrictiveness indicators

Amendment 262 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4

Providing evaluation: the need for an updated single market scoreboard ~~and restrictiveness indicators~~

Amendment 263 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Supports the Commission’s preliminary initiative to update the single market scoreboard with ~~a new set of indicators~~new policy dimensions and policy fields for analysis and evaluation, a new set of indicators, which should be the result of cooperation with social partners, consumer organizations and other stakeholders, with which to evaluate Member State implementation of ~~relevant~~ single market legislation; underlines that there should be a focus on the quality of the implementation;

Amendment 264 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Supports the Commission’s preliminary initiative to update the single market scoreboard with a new set of indicators with which to evaluate Member State implementation of relevant single market legislation; asks to take into account social and environmental indicators to promote a fair and sustainable provision of quality services in the internal market;

Amendment 265 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Supports the Commission’s preliminary initiative to update the single market scoreboard with a new set of non- binding indicators with which to evaluate Member State implementation of relevant single market legislation to promote a fair and sustainable provision of quality services;

Amendment 266 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Supports the Commission’s preliminary initiative to update the single market scoreboard with a new set of indicators with which to evaluate Member State implementation of relevant single market legislation; encourages the Commission to supplement the data published with relevant data arising from IMI, SOLVIT, ChAP and other relevant resources;

Amendment 267 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. ~~Support~~Acknowledges the Commission’s preliminary initiative to update the single market scoreboard with a new set of indicators with which to evaluate Member State implementation of relevant single market legislation;

Amendment 268 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Recommends that the updated single market scoreboard analyses will emphasize reporting relevant issues from an end-user perspective, evaluating whether concerns and complaints are settled, for instance within the SOLVIT framework; further regrets that the SOLVIT tool is barely utilised in many Member States and often lack a digital state of art capabilities;

Amendment 269 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Recommends that the updated single market scoreboard analyses ~~relevant~~ issues from an end-user perspective, evaluating whether concerns and complaints are settled, for instance within the SOLVIT or ECC-net framework;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas in the European Union the level of mobility of qualified professionals towards other EU countries to provide services is too low in comparison with other economies like that of the United States and this is impacting on the development of the economies that go to make up the European Union;

Amendment 270 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28a. Underlines that greater transparency regarding infringements of the freedom to provide services is necessary; considers that the Single Market Scoreboard should include appropriate information, including the number of complaints, number of cases initiated, their sector of infringement, number of completed cases and the result or reason for closing the case;

Amendment 271 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Urges the Commission to adopt a quantitative and qualitative evaluation method; notes the importance of evaluating whether relevant EU directives are implemented on time and as intended by EU legislators;deleted

Amendment 272 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Urges the Commission to adopt a quantitative and qualitative evaluation method, involving social partners, consumer organizations and other stakeholders; underlines that the method for qualitative indicators should be transparent and assess differences in ex- ante and ex-post regulation; notes the importance of evaluating whether ~~relevant~~ EU directives are implemented on time and as intended by EU the European co-legislators;

Amendment 273 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Urges the Commission to adopt a quantitative and qualitative evaluation method; notes the importance of ~~evaluating whether relevant EU directives are~~qualitative analysis of causes when problems with some acts are noticeable in many MS, which will provide an insight into the reasons why certain EU legislation is not implemented on time and as intended by EU legislators;

Amendment 274 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Urges the Commission to adopt a quantitative and qualitative evaluation method; encompassing in particular the general interest objectives and the quality of the service provided1a; notes the importance of evaluating whether relevant EU directives are implemented on time and as intended by EU legislators; __________________ 1a asalso stated in the European Parliament resolution of 18 January 2018 “Implementation of the Professional Qualifications Directive and the need for reform in professional services”

Amendment 275 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Urges the Commission to adopt a quantitative and qualitative evaluation method involving social partners, consumer organizations and researchers; notes the importance of evaluating whether relevant EU directives are implemented on time and as intended by EU legislators;

Amendment 276 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

30. Recommends that an updated single market scoreboard links to existing restrictiveness indicators, and maps services restrictions and the differing levels of implementation and enforcement of relevant EU legislation;deleted

Amendment 277 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

30. Recommends that an updated single market scoreboard links to ~~existing restrictiveness~~the quality of implementation, existing indicators, and maps services restrictions in new and existing policy fields and the differing levels of implementation and enforcement of ~~relevant~~ EU legislation;

Amendment 278 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)

30a. Further recommends that the European Semester is also utilised for strengthening the single market, as the removal of the most problematic regulatory and administrative burdens is an ongoing concern;

Amendment 279 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 b (new)

30b. Considers that the European Commission, in assessing the progress of Member States in implementing structural reforms, should also analyse the achievements in the field of realization of the economic potential of the single market;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas the single market has on average reduced trade costs by 20 % for goods but only 7 % for services;

Amendment 280 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 c (new)

30c. Encourages the European Commission to include the mid-term activities of the Member States which aim to further remove remaining administrative and regulatory barriers in the single market for services when presenting country-specific recommendations;

Amendment 281 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Invites the Commission to update existing restrictiveness indicators to help Member States identify where efforts must be made to reduce restrictions, and monitor their efforts in reducing restrictions.deleted

Amendment 282 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Invites the Commission to update existing ~~restrictiveness~~and introduce new indicators to help Member States identify where efforts ~~must~~could be made to ~~reduce restrictions,~~improve their policy results and monitor their efforts in ~~reducing restrictions~~this regard.

Amendment 283 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)

31a. Urges Member States to set annual national targets and evaluations for improving services trade openness; recommends that the Commission utilize the Single Market Scoreboard to rank Member States according to their services trade openness, as exemplified in the European Innovation Scoreboard, as this would enable Member States to make credible, concrete and measurable commitments for improving their implementation and enforcement performance in the area of intra-EU services trade;

Amendment 284 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading (new)

Implementation of the professional qualifications recognition system to enhance the freedom to provide services in the EU:

Amendment 285 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)

31a. Urges the Commission to extend the number of professions to which the European Professional Card applies, including in particular engineering, as it has already decided;

Amendment 286 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 b (new)

31b. Stresses the need to improve the comparability of levels of professional qualifications so as to ensure greater uniformity of education and training qualifications across the EU;

Amendment 287 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 c (new)

31c. Believes that the Commission should also take into account other tools which have not yet been developed, such as the common training principles introduced by Directive 2013/55/EU, as these can help standardise studies and academic training and thus facilitate the mobility of professionals in Europe;

Amendment 288 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 d (new)

32d. Urges the Commission to implement Articles 49a and 49b of Directive 2013/55/EU relating to common training principles, which will help achieve greater professional convergence and enhance professionals’ mobility in Europe and hence the impact of this on the freedom to provide services;

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)

Bc. whereas despite of a number of measures taken to strengthen and deepen the services market, including the passing of more than a thousand national regulations to comply with the Services Directive, the full potential of the single market for services and its completion has yet to be achieved;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)

- having regard to Directive 2014/67/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of15 May 2014 on the enforcement of Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services and amending Regulation(EU) No 1024/2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System (‘the IMI Regulation’ ),

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B d (new)

Bd. whereas a services market integration was a relatively late starter, meaning that liberalisation has only been gradually happening since the 1980s, while the comprehensive legal framework for a single market for services was created by the EU Services Directive in 2006;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas studies show that the potential gains of completing the single market for services through effective implementation and better harmonisation of regulations could be at least EUR 297 billion, corresponding to 2 % of EU GDP; whereas a focus on financial gains neglects the necessity to ensure a good quality of services striving for sustainable and inclusive growth guaranteeing social rights, workers’ rights, consumer and environmental protection and access to health and safety;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas studies show that the potential gains of completing the single market for services through effective implementation and better harmonisation of regulations could ~~be at least EUR 297 billion, corresponding to 2 % of EU GDP;~~enable the following growth potential: overall €389bn or 2.28% of EU GDP; €284bn under full implementation of the Services Directive; €85bn in professional services; €20bn public procurement of services1a __________________ 1aJ.Pelkmans, “Contribution to Growth, The Single Market for Services”, February 2019

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas transport represents almost a quarter of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions and is the main cause of air pollution in cities; whereas he development of the free movement of services should also take in account the current negative environmental, societal and health aspects of cross-border transporting services and goods, while promoting efficient transportation and local services and production;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the disproportionately low share of intra-EU trade apportioned to services despite its overwhelming economic importance to EU economies show that national markets are well- functioning but it is cross-border or “European” initiatives which are lacking;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the EU currently faces a recession and rising unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic~~, and completing the single market for services is thus a smart and effective way of creating economic growth without additional public spending~~; whereas the current crisis has shed light on and exacerbated existing short-comings in the protection of posted workers in the framework of the provision of services; whereas the Commission guidelines on restoring freedom of movement under COVID-19 have focused rather on the provision of safe services for citizens rather than also ensuring safe conditions for workers providing services;

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the EU ~~currently~~ faces a recession ~~and rising unemployment~~in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and efforts with the aim of completing the single market for services isare thus a ~~smart and effective~~ way of creating economic growth ~~without additional public spending~~; however keeping in mind the principles enshrined in Article3(3) TEU calling for a balance between the market economy principle and the EU’s social integration;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the EU currently faces a recession and rising unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and completing the single market for services is thus a smart and effective way of creating economic growth without additional public spending and with less red tape;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. recalls that employees in the services sector are adversely affected, either by facing severe economic insecurity or being exposed as frontline workers working tirelessly throughout the Covid-19 pandemic in the European Union, often putting their health at risk; whereas the need to protect posted workers during their posting in relation to the freedom to provide services under Article 56 of the TFEU is equally recognised, laying down mandatory provisions regarding working conditions and the protection of workers’ health and safety;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)

- having regard to Directive (EU) 2018/957 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 June 2018 amending Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services,

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas the role of services is key to increasing EU trade flows, to improve the leadership of EU value chains and to strengthen and make the most of the Single Market in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

~~E. whereas a more integrated and interconnected services market is necessary to tackle climate change, create a sustainable economy, and unleash the full potential of the European Green Deal;~~deleted

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas a more integrated and interconnected services market ~~is necessary~~could contribute to tackle climate change, and createing a sustainable economy~~, and unleash the full potential of the European Green Deal~~;

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas ~~a more integrated and interconnected services market is necessary~~services can contribute to tackle climate change, to create a sustainable and just economy, and to unleash the full potential of the European Green Deal by striving for a socio- ecological just transition;

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas a more integrated and interconnected services market is necessary to tackle climate change, create a sustainable economy, and unleash the full potential of the European Green Deal and at the same time to ensure that service providers and consumers’ rights are respected;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas a more integrated and interconnected services market is necessary to deliver on the European Pillar of Social Rights, to tackle climate change, create a sustainable economy, and unleash the full potential of the European Green Deal; points out that the social and environmental side of the single market should be improved in line with the Lisbon Treaty;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas a more integrated and interconnected services market is necessary to tackle climate change, create a sustainable economy, including digital commerce and unleash the full potential of the European Green Deal;

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

~~F. whereas fragmentation, restrictive national regulations and gold-plating not only hamper businesses, but also hurt consumers, who have fewer choices and pay higher prices;~~deleted

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas fragmentation, ~~restrictive national~~controversial business practices, such as quasi geo-blocking activities, which amongst other regsul~~ations and gold-plating not only~~ts lead to less competition, hamper businesses, but also hurt consumers, who have fewer choices and pay higher prices; whereas high quality services are in the interest of consumers and regulation that goes beyond minimum levels established by EU law is a paramount right of Member States;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas ~~fragmentation, restrictive national regulations and gold-plating not only hamper businesses, but also hurt consumers, who have fewer choices and pay higher prices~~differences in national regulations and standards should not primarily be considered as obstacles to free movement;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 b (new)

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas fragmentation, restrictive national regulations and gold-plating in national and EU-law not only hamper businesses, but also hurt consumers, who have fewer choices and pay higher prices;

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas fragmentation, ~~restrictive~~unjustified national regulations and gold-plating not only hamper businesses, but also hurt consumers, who have fewer choices and pay higher prices;

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas the existing EU legislation lacks coherence and clarity to effectively tackle obstacles to free movement of services in certain areas;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the effective implementation of existing rules ~~and the abolition of excessive requirements depends~~depends on the Member States acting in the public interest onf the ~~Member State~~ir citizens;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the effective implementation of existing rules and the abolition of ~~excessive~~ requirements depends on the Member States; and cooperation with the European Commission to better implement European rules;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the effective implementation of existing rules and the abolition of excessive requirements ~~depends~~lies only in the competence onf the Member States;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the effective implementation of existing rules and the abolition of excessive requirements ~~depends~~as well as unjustified barriers depends primarily on the Member States;

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the effective implementation of existing rules and the abolition of excessive requirements depends on ~~the~~both the Commission and Member States;

Amendment 58 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the effective implementation of existing rules and the abolition of excessive requirements depends principally on the Member States;

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas ongoing disputes concerning the application of the Services Directive, including that of Italian State- owned maritime concessions, are indeed still being handled at a national level, and whereas the Commission should leave aside rigid unilateral interpretations and open a constructive dialogue with the Member States to appraise the legal arguments under national law that do not adversely affect the completion of the internal market for services;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)

- having regard to the Commission Communication of 14 November 2017 entitled ‘Strengthening European Identity through Education and Culture’ (COM(2017) 673),

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

~~H. whereas incomplete implementation of existing legislation creates an enforcement gap, since provisions not properly implemented might also be impossible to enforce effectively;~~deleted

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas ~~incomplete~~different regulatory choices at both the European and national level, imperfect and inadequate transposition and implementation of existing legislation creates an enforcement gap, since provisions not properly implemented might also be impossible to enforce effectively;

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas ~~burdensome~~ administrative procedures by Member States, unfamiliarity with European and national regulations related to services, unawareness of culture and language deficiencies, diverging national regulations, and especially obstacles to accessing necessary information have ~~created discrimination, and~~ made it complicated to engage in cross-border trade in services, in particular for smaller companies; recalls that there are already existing instruments to support the needs of smaller companies such as the Your Europe Business portal, Solvit, the points of single contact, the Single Digital Gateway and other instruments;

Amendment 64 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas burdensome administrative procedures, diverging national regulations, and especially obstacles to accessing necessary information have created discrimination, and made it complicated to engage in cross-border trade, in particular for smaller companiesit is essential to maintain and improve the legal public authorities’ and Member States’ right to regulate in the services sector; whereas the single market must not exert pressure on standards concerning social rights of workers, consumer and environmental protection;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas the lack of automatic recognition instruments for diplomas, qualifications, skills and competences between Member States is impeding the mobility of learners, apprentices, graduates and skilled workers and thereby hampering the flow of ideas within the EU, the innovation potential of the European economy and the development of a truly integrated European single market;

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas the increase in worker mobility will allow workers to move more freely to where their skills are needed, which will help improve Europe’s competitiveness and economic dynamism;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas the Services Directive excluded wholly or partially social services, healthcare services, and other public services in recognition of the special regulatory frameworks needed for these services to operate in the general interest in line with Protocol 26 and Article 14 of the TFEU;

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas taxation policies constitute a key instrument to tackle market fragmentation, stimulate innovation and allow all players to tap into the new market dynamics under fair and balanced conditions, upholding the principles of the Single Market;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 b (new)

- having regard to the Commission Communication of 22 May 2018 entitled ‘Building a stronger Europe: the role of youth, education and culture policies’ (COM(2018) 0268),

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas many infringements of services legislation, especially at the local level, are difficult to identify, assess and address with the existing enforcement mechanisms;

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas that the fully developed Internal Market for services could exceed in size and potential the US domestic market;

Amendment 72 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)

Ib. whereas in the European Union the level of mobility of qualified professionals towards other EU countries to provide services is too low in comparison with other economies like that of the United States and this is impacting on the development of the economies that go to make up the European Union;

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)

Ib. whereas on average EU services are 11% more expansive compare to US1a; underlines that the significant portion of an overall product cost correlates with the cost of services and therefore could impair consumer welfare; __________________ 1aEva Rytter Synesen, Martin Hvidt Thelle, Copenhagen Economics, “Making EU Trade in Services Work for All”, November 2018

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I c (new)

Ic. whereas the freedom to provide services is tied in with the quick and accurate recognition of professional qualifications, which is designed to achieve convergence of the professions regulated by the Member States;

Amendment 75 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I c (new)

Ic. whereas 27% of the value added of manufactured goods in the EU is generated by services and 14 million jobs are attributed to the services sector in support of manufacturing1a; __________________ 1aEva Rytter Synesen, Martin Hvidt Thelle, Copenhagen Economics, “Making EU Trade in Services Work for All”, November 2018

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I d (new)

Id. whereas Directive 2005/36 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005, as amended by Directive 2013/55/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November, introduced the European Professional Card to reduce the administrative burden of recognition and further improve the qualifications recognition system;

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I e (new)

Ie. whereas the Commission selected five test professions (nurse, pharmacist, physiotherapist, mountain guide and real estate agent) for which the European Professional Card was introduced, based on the fact that those professions met the requirements of Article 4a(7) of Directive 2005/36/EC as regards data on current and potential mobility, on Member State rules and on the interest expressed by stakeholders;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I f (new)

If. whereas, under EU legislation, other professions such as engineering can apply the professional qualifications recognition system provided for by the European Professional Card;

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I g (new)

Ig. whereas the concept of common training principles was introduced by Directive 2013/55/EU on the recognition of professional qualifications to make it possible to extend the automatic recognition system to include new professions through the ‘common training framework’, which was defined as ‘a common set of minimum knowledge, skills and competences necessary for the pursuit of a specific profession’ (Articles 49a and 49b);

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)

- having regard to Commission Communication of 13 May2020 Towards a phased and coordinated approach for restoring freedom of movement and lifting internal border controls,

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1

~~Addressing barrier~~Ensuring fairness and quality services within the single market

Amendment 81 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)

-1. Proposes that the reform of the Internal Market for Services becomes, next to the Green Deal and the Digitalisation Strategy, the Commission’s core priority;

Amendment 82 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Underlines that promoting the single market, includi~~Promoting and streng the ~~free movement of services and people,~~ning public services is paramount for tackling the economic crisis caused by COVID-19; ~~urges all Member States to ease restrictions on free movement within the single market as soon as possible;~~

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Underlines that promoting the single market, including the free movement of services and people, is paramount for tackling the economic crisis caused by COVID-19; urges all Member States to ease restrictions on free movement within the single market as soon as possible; regrets that the Recovery Plan proposed by the Commission lacks ambition when it comes to the movement of services and fails to fully recognise its importance as a tool for economic recovery;

Amendment 84 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Underlines that promoting the single market, including the free movement of services and people, consumer protection, workers’ rights and the strict enforcement of EU law acquis, is paramount for tackling the economic crisis caused by COVID-19; urges all Member States to ease restrictions on free movement, within the single market as soon as possible; calls upon the Commission and Member States to adapt the rules on the free movement of services, workers and people to the credible threat of future pandemics;

Amendment 85 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Underlines that promoting the single market, including the free movement of services and people, is paramount for tackling the economic crisis caused by COVID-19; urges ~~all~~the Commission to simplify the application of the current regulatory framework; calls on Member States to ease restrictions on the free movement within the single market as soon as possible;

Amendment 86 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Underlines that promoting the single market, including the free movement of services and people, is paramount for tackling the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 disease; urges all Member States to ease restrictions on free movement within the single market as soon as an assessment based on epidemiological criteria shows that it is possible;

Amendment 87 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Underlines that ~~promoting th~~building up a more resilient and sustainable single market, including ~~the~~a free and fair movement of services and people, is paramount for tackling the economic crisis caused by COVID-19; urges all Member States to ease restrictions on free movement within the single market as soon as possible;

Amendment 88 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

Amendment 89 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

Amendment 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)

- having regard to the Council Recommendation of 26 November 2018 on promoting automatic mutual recognition of higher education and upper secondary education and training qualifications and the outcomes of learning periods abroad (2018/C 444/01),

Amendment 90 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the Commission to continue its efforts to build a single services market with competitive, strategic and open public procurement, with the ultimate aim of yielding the potential of benefits and reducing the costs of cross- border procurement for SMEs;

Amendment 91 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights that across the European Union ~~red tape, burdensome administrative practices and regulatory restrictions to service providers are creating unjustified barriers tha~~businesses and workers can move freely, offer their services and consumers can benefit from more choice; however, regrets that within the single market for services fragmentation, lacking implementation and insufficient enforcement still exist depriveing citizens of jobs, consumers of choices, and entrepreneurs of opportunities;

Amendment 93 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights that across the European Union red tape, burdensome administrative practices and regulatory restrictions to service providers are creating unjustified barriers that deprive citizens of jobs, consumers of choices, and entrepreneurs of opportunities;social dumping and unfair competition between Member States in employment, security and taxation rules are creating unjustified barriers for quality and sustainable development and deprive citizens of jobs, consumers of choices, and entrepreneurs of opportunities; recognises that in respect of the professional services sector, different approaches to regulation do not per se constitute an obstacle to the deepening of the internal market; stresses that regulation on access to, and the exercise of, professions may be necessary for the protection of public interest and consumer protection1a; __________________ 1aas also stated in the European Parliament resolution of 26 May 2016 on the Single Market Strategy (2015/2354(INI))

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights that across the European Union red tape, burdensome administrative practices and ~~regulatory~~unjustified restrictions to service providers are creating ~~unjustified~~ barriers that deprive citizens of jobs, consumers of choices, and entrepreneurs of opportunities, and calls, therefore, on the Member States to reduce bureaucratic obstacles and, as quickly as possible, make it possible to obtain electronically the documents needed for the cross- border provision of services;

Amendment 95 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights that across the European Union red tape, burdensome administrative practices, delays in enrolment via electronic procedures or only partially electronic procedures and regulatory restrictions to service providers are creating unjustified barriers that deprive citizens of jobs, consumers of choices, and entrepreneurs of opportunities;

Amendment 96 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights that across the European Union red tape, burdensome administrative practices and regulatory restrictions to service providers a~~re creating~~s well as obstacles in the access to regulated professions often create unjustified barriers that deprive citizens of jobs, consumers of choices, and entrepreneurs of opportunities;

Amendment 97 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

Amendment 98 #

Abir AL-SAHLANI, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Jordi CAÑAS, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Radka MAXOVÁ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Takes into consideration that the harmonisation inspired by the Professional Qualifications Directive gained success within several professions; further proclaims that Member States should reconsider and coordinate rules governing entry and exercise requirements in relation to specific activities or professions;

Amendment 99 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Highlights the increasing importance of servicification in the manufacturing sector and stresses that barriers to trade in services are increasingly barriers to manufacturing;

source: 653.761

2020/06/25 EMPL 162 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Recital -A (new)

-A. whereas the principle of equal treatment is enshrined in Article 45(2) of the TFEU, forbidding any discrimination based on nationality between workers of the Member States as regards employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the internal market should serve the welfare of all, in accordance with the tradition of social progress rooted in the history of Europe and mentioned in the Treaties, economic freedoms cannot be interpreted as granting undertakings the right to exercise them for the purpose or with the effect of undermining, evading or circumventing national social and employment laws and practices or for social dumping;

Amendment 100 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission, Member States and local authorities to work together with the social partners to devise strategies to guarantee and facilitate the voluntary – rather than enforced – fair mobility of workers, determined by the search for the best work and life opportunities, by implementing the right public policies and providing high-quality job opportunities and decent wages which match workers skills;

Amendment 101 #

Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE, Sylvie BRUNET, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Véronique TRILLET-LENOIR, Ilana CICUREL, Jordi CAÑAS, Stéphane BIJOUX

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission, Member States and local authorities to work together with the social partners to ~~devise strategie~~formulate specific sectoral strategies and action plans to guarantee and facilitate the voluntary – rather than enforced – mobility of workers, by implementing the right public policies and providing high-quality job opportunities which match workers skills;

Amendment 102 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission, Member States and local authorities to work together with the social partners to devise strategies to guarantee and facilitate the voluntary – rather than enforced – mobility of workers, by implementing the right public policies and providing high-quality job opportunities which match workers skills; therefore calls on the Member States to guarantee fair and equitable conditions for mobile workers by boosting the portability of their rights and allowances and intensifying administrative cooperation between national and local administrations;

Amendment 103 #

Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE, Sylvie BRUNET, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Véronique TRILLET-LENOIR, Ilana CICUREL, Jordi CAÑAS, Stéphane BIJOUX

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Recalls the importance of involving social partners in the design and implementation of the regulation of services and professions, promoting a fair and rules-based services market, where high social and environmental standards, quality services and fair competition constitute paramount considerations; recalls that a high level of workers’ rights, social and environmental protection, as well as collective bargaining and collective action, can never be seen as barriers to trade; stresses that social dialogue and collective bargaining must lie at the heart of the social market economy; Calls on the Commission and Member States to oppose the further fragmentation of collective bargaining systems, protect Member States’ existing sectoral collective bargaining systems with the view to facilitate and expand socialpartners’ capacity to implement sectoral agreements;

Amendment 104 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls on the Member States to ensure compliance with European rules on labour mobility, in particular those on posting, in order to ensure fair working conditions for workers and to contribute to upward social convergence; calls also on the Commission and the Member States to provide the European Labour Authority, as soon as possible, with resources which are both adequate and necessary to enable it to fulfil its mission and ensure fair labour mobility within the Union;

Amendment 105 #

Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Lina GÁLVEZ, Agnes JONGERIUS, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Brando BENIFEI, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Johan DANIELSSON, Heléne FRITZON, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Manuel PIZARRO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls on the Commission to ensure efficient coordination and exchange of information between Member States, also with the help and support of the ELA; recalls that ELA should play a key role in enhancing the detection of social fraud, exploitation and abuses in cross-border employment situations, such as social fraud, bogus self-employment, bogus posting, letter-box companies, undeclared work as well as artificial arrangements with regard to subcontracting and supply- chains;

Amendment 106 #

Sylvie BRUNET, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE, Véronique TRILLET-LENOIR, Ilana CICUREL, Stéphane BIJOUX, Jordi CAÑAS, Radka MAXOVÁ, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Abir AL-SAHLANI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Besides the guidelines published on 30 March concerning the exercise of the free movement of frontier, posted and seasonal workers in critical occupations, welcomes the European Commission’s announcement that it is preparing guidelines on seasonal workers1a to ensure their health and safety at work; considers that these could be useful tools to support free movement of workers while contributing to safe working conditions; __________________ 1aCommissioner Nicolas Schmit’s speech on Thursday 18 June during the debate on the European protection of cross- border and seasonal workers in the context of the COVID-19 crisis

Amendment 107 #

Jarosław DUDA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls on the Member States to publish all information on the conditions of posting, particularly as regards local and regional collective agreements, as well as those that are generally applicable, on standardised websites; stresses that access to information is crucial, as it provides legal clarity for employers and allows for better protection of employees' rights;

Amendment 108 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Given that Europe’s societies are ageing, the shortage of a skilled workforce is increasingly becoming a problem, and therefore one determining factor in the present and future survival of industry is the development of a demand-led training system which, alongside promoting the principle of generational renewal, will encourage digitalisation and in which higher education and training systems must play a key role;

Amendment 109 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls on the Commission to take action to improve mutual recognition of skills, which, in the main, continues to be governed by bilateral agreements between individual Member States; points out that this state of affairs is drastically reducing the quantity and quality of work opportunities, affecting professional classification and, therefore, wages;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas Article 9 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union stipulates that in defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall take into account requirements linked to the promotion of a high level of employment, the guarantee of adequate social protection, the fight against social exclusion, and a high level of education, training and protection of human health.

Amendment 110 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Considers that post-Covid19 all relevant EU policies including those aimed at strengthening the internal market must embrace the recovery of quality employment and manufacturing opportunities throughout the Union, in order to support the equal and sustainable development of all EU regions;

Amendment 111 #

Abir AL-SAHLANI, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Jordi CAÑAS, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls on the Commission, in cooperation with Member States and local authorities and with a view to simplifying the recognition of professional qualifications, to coordinate and encourage the removal of bureaucratic and administrative barriers;

Amendment 112 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. In light of the COVID-outbreak Member States should rapidly establish specific burden free and fast procedures to ensure swift passage for frontier workers and seasonal workers, while ensured safe working conditions.;

Amendment 113 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Notes that the service market usually is a gateway for young people, migrants and long-term unemployed; Underlines the need for a well- functioning service market to fight youth unemployment and getting people to work;

Amendment 114 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Calls on the Commission and the Council to resume, as soon as possible, negotiations on the revision of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems , as all EU citizens who work in another Member State must have legal certainty as regards their rights, in particular, a guarantee of the same social security and social care and healthcare rights as domestic workers in the country where they carry out their professional activity and pay labour taxes;

Amendment 115 #

Abir AL-SAHLANI, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Jordi CAÑAS, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Highlights that any future initiative on the design and implementation of the regulation of professions and free movement of services should place workers, their representatives and trade unions, as well as workers’ interests and long-standing expertise at its core to ensure democratic functioning and high social and environmental standards; calls on the Commission to fully include workers, their representatives and trade unions at every stage of the procedure;

Amendment 116 #

Jarosław DUDA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Calls for unnecessary bureaucratic burdens to be reduced to a minimum, as they increase legal chaos; calls, at the same time, on the Member States to effectively enforce existing legislation and, above all, to combat undeclared work;

Amendment 117 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Calls for the full implementation of Services and the Professional Qualifications Directive built on mutual recognition to facilitate the free movement of services and workers, while reducing the amount of regulated occupational standards;

Amendment 118 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Notes that facilitating free movement of workers and a well- functioning service market whiteout unjustified infringements will contribute to upward convergence in the EU, social cohesion as well as a competitive European economy;

Amendment 119 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Calls on the Commission to increase its efforts and make ELA operational without undue delay in view of improving the application and enforcement of Union law related to labour mobility and social security coordination;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas a more integrated and interconnected market for services is necessary to tackle the climate change; whereas economic, environmental and social considerations must be put on equal footing to pave the way for a sustainable services market free from environmental and social dumping, in line with the just transition;

Amendment 120 #

Abir AL-SAHLANI, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Calls on the Commission and Member States to guarantee trade union access to workplaces and rights to workers, in particular mobile workers;

Amendment 121 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Notes that at least 80 million workers in Europe are mismatched in terms of qualifications and more than 5 out of 10 jobs that are hard-to-fill are found in high-skilled occupations; stresses the need to create additional ways to attract talent and well-needed skills; calls for the current Blue Card proposal to be unblocked;

Amendment 122 #

Abir AL-SAHLANI, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Jordi CAÑAS, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Is of the opinion that creating jobs in the aftermath of Covid-19 should be the priority of the Commission and Member States; Urges, therefore, the Commission to take action to uphold and further open the services markets where the job creation potential is greatest;

Amendment 123 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2d. Stresses the importance of supporting and updating workers’ skills, in particular digital skills, through existing mechanisms for recognition and compatibility of skills and qualifications, such as EURES, Europass online platform and ESCO.

Amendment 124 #

Beata SZYDŁO, Elżbieta RAFALSKA, Anna ZALEWSKA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission and 3. Member States to promote the use of digital tools ~~and provide labour inspectorates with sufficient resources~~, such as EESSI and IMI; calls, at the same time, on the Commission to take steps to develop the digital A1 form and the European Social Security Identification Number, and calls on the Member States to provide labour inspectorates with sufficient resources; calls, furthermore, on the Member States to ensure that the checks carried out are proportionate, justified and non- discriminatory.

Amendment 125 #

Jarosław DUDA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission and Member States to promote the use of digital tools ~~and~~; calls on the Commission to put forward a proposal for the establishment of a European Social Security Identification Number, and on the Member States to provide labour inspectorates with sufficient resources.;

Amendment 126 #

Sylvie BRUNET, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE, Véronique TRILLET-LENOIR, Ilana CICUREL, Stéphane BIJOUX, Jordi CAÑAS, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. CPoints out that digitalisation is both a horizontal and a vertical challenge for the internal market: it catalyses the servitisation of industry (linking with and broadening the provision of services), creates new value chains, business and consumption models and provides a new supply-and-demand forum, all of which means that the opportunities provided by digitalisation are indispensable in improving competitiveness and the quality of the labour market, and on this basis calls on the Commission and Member States to promote the use of digital tools and provide labour inspectorates with sufficient resources., while making a firm request for cyber defence as a guaranteeing factor to be accorded a prominent role;

Amendment 127 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission and Member States to promote the use of digital tools ~~and provide labour inspectorates with sufficient resources~~such as the introduction of a digital European Social Security Number and the swift completion of the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information in order to enhance cooperation between Member States and allow for a smooth and fair mobility of European workers; equally calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure that the European Labour Authority becomes quickly fully operational and to provide labour inspectorates with sufficient resources so as to tackle fraud and the lack of enforcement of the European legislation.

Amendment 128 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission and Member States to promote the use of digital tools and provide labour inspectorates with sufficient resources.; calls on the Member States to improve the cooperation and the exchange of information on social security systems: Calls on the Commission to put forward an initiative for a European Social Security Number, providing legal certainty for workers and businesses, while effectively also controlling subcontracting practices, and combatting social frauds such as false self- employment, bogus posting, letterbox companies and other artificial arrangements;

Amendment 129 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. CPoints out that workers as well as business and consumers suffer the consequences of inadequate implementation and circumvention of social security, labour law and collective agreements; urges Member States to ensure the proper implementation and enforcement of current legislation, including the protection of workers, thereby facilitating the cross-border provision of services, combatting social dumping and ensuring a level playing field; calls on the Commission and Member States to promote the use of digital tools and provide labour inspectorates with sufficient resources.

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas European legislation on the free movement of persons, workers, goods and services has not developed in a balanced and coordinated manner, and whereas much remains to be done to improve the free movement of workers, particularly seasonal, cross-border and posted workers;

Amendment 130 #

Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE, Sylvie BRUNET, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Véronique TRILLET-LENOIR, Ilana CICUREL, Jordi CAÑAS, Radka MAXOVÁ, Stéphane BIJOUX

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission and Member States to promote the use of digital tools and provide labour inspectorates with sufficient resources.; calls on the Member States to implement all components of the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (EESSI) system to ensure a more effective cooperation between social security institutions and a faster, digitised processing of individual cases to the benefit of citizens in cross-border situations;

Amendment 131 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission and Member States to promote the use of digital tools and provide national labour inspectorates with sufficient resources; in this context, urges the Member States to commit themselves fully to the digitalisation of public services in order to facilitate fair labour mobility, particularly with regard to the coordination of social security systems.

Amendment 132 #

Cindy FRANSSEN, Dennis RADTKE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission and Member States to promote the use of digital tools and provide labour inspectorates with sufficient resources. Urges the Commission to make the European Labour Authority fully operational as soon as possible to ensure a better coordination between the national labour inspectorates and to tackle cross- border social dumping.

Amendment 133 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission and Member States to promote the use of digital tools ~~and provide labour inspectorates with sufficient resources~~, which citizens and workers must be trained to use, and provide labour inspectorates with the resources to take proper measures to tackle all forms of abuse.

Amendment 134 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission ~~and~~, Member States and local authorities to promote the use of digital tools and provide labour inspectorates with sufficient resources.

Amendment 135 #

Jordi CAÑAS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Stresses that workers with disabilities continue to face multiple obstacles that make it difficult or impossible to fully benefit from the free movement of services; calls on the Member States to implement without delay the European Accessibility Act, in order to effectively remove barriers for workers with disabilities and ensure the availability of accessible services, as well as the suitability of the conditions under which services are provided; highlights the paramount importance of achieving a fully accessible Single Market that ensures the equal treatment and economic and social integration of workers with disabilities;

Amendment 136 #

Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Lina GÁLVEZ, Agnes JONGERIUS, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Brando BENIFEI, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Manuel PIZARRO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Underlines that harmful practices on the free movement of workers affect every Member State; Calls for increased vigour from the Commission to ensure efficient coordination and exchange of information between Member States, so as to improve the enforcement of procedures and checks for the cross-border provision of services, including workers’ rights, effectively detecting abuses and exploitation such as social fraud, false self-employment, bogus posting, letter-box companies and artificial arrangements through subcontracting and in supply- chains; Calls on the Commission and Member States to strength the common labour inspections

Amendment 137 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission to introduce a European Social Security Register as well as a European Social Security Number, to provide legal certainty for workers and businesses, while effectively controlling subcontracting practices and combating social fraud; urges Member States in this context to ensure the proper implementation and enforcement of Union law to facilitate the free movement and social protection of workers as well as the cross-border provision of services, thereby ensuring a level playing field in the Single Market;

Amendment 138 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Considers that establishing a digital and dynamic system of identification and data exchange between Member States could help facilitate the fight against abuses of and issues with mobile, frontier, cross border and seasonal workers’ rights, undeclared work and determining coverage of the responsible social security system; calls in that context for the Commission to prepare an exhaustive impact assessment on the introduction of a digital European Social Security Number with a view to smooth launching a proposal;

Amendment 139 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission to put forward an initiative for a European Social Security Number; recalls that such proposal can facilitate the life of every EU citizen making use of their fundamental right to free movement; recalls that a European Social Security Number can improve traceability of Social Security coverage and contributions and thereby support citizens and companies that comply with social security rules while possibly improving the fight against criminal actors undermining the level playing field.

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas 27% of the value added of manufactured goods in the EU is generated by services and 14 million jobs are attributed to the services sector in support of manufacturing1a __________________ 1aEva Rytter Synesen, Martin Hvidt Thelle,Copenhagen Economics, "Making EU Trade in Services Work for All", November 2018

Amendment 140 #

Jessica POLFJÄRD

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Recalls that all measures which prohibit, impede or render less attractive the exercise to provide services, than a domestically established entity, is a violation against the TFEU (art. 49) as well as the Services Directive (2006/123/EC); calls on the Commission and Member State to facilitate cross- border work by removing barriers such as laws and customs that are detrimental for work across borders;

Amendment 141 #

Johan DANIELSSON, Heléne FRITZON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Urges Member States at national and regional level to avoid gold-plating and disproportional regulatory requirements hindering cross-border work; calls on Member States to implement current legislation accurate thereby facilitating the cross-border provision of services and ensuring a level playing field;

Amendment 142 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to take actions to strengthen and promote social dialogue, the autonomy of the social partners and encourage workers to organize as a key instrument to achieve high standards on quality of employment;

Amendment 143 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on Member States and local authorities to work together to prevent unfair practices involving industries in the same sector that result in social and wage dumping;

Amendment 144 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls for the transposition of Directive 2019/882 on accessibility requirements for products and services as a matter of urgency;

Amendment 145 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure, as a matter of urgency, the proper implementation and enforcement of applicable Union legislation concerning the rights of cross- border and seasonal workers, particularly the right to equal pay for equal work at the same place as well as decent working and employment conditions; stresses the particular vulnerability of women and young mobile workers; underlines the need to step up concerted and joint labour inspections at national and cross-border level in this context; insists that decisive steps must be taken to ensure that cross- border and seasonal workers have a clear understanding of, full information about and unhindered access to their contracts, rights and obligations before departure and that their contracts are made available to the competent authorities; calls on the Member States to enhance the capacity of labour inspectorates and to prioritise sectors where workers are at risk;

Amendment 146 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Underlines that the development of services linked to disruptive or emerging technologies require appropriate market scale and opportunities in order to justify investment and to support companies' growth; considers that the current status of the internal market does not fully support such investment; recalls that many innovative or scaling-up companies seek to establish themselves outside of Europe once they reach a certain size; stresses that in order for European companies to remain significantly headquartered, competitive, operational and to provide quality jobs in Europe realisation of the freedom to provide services is needed;

Amendment 147 #

Johan DANIELSSON, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Heléne FRITZON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Expresses deep concern that a European services e-card may create additional loopholes in existing legislation, hinder effective controls and enforcement of the rules in place by effectively introducing the country of origin principle; is of the opinion that such a proposal is a support program for undeclared work, letter box companies, avoiding labour standards, fair pay, collective agreements and social dumping; therefore calls on the Commission to withdraw the legislative services e-card proposal as previously requested by the European Parliament;

Amendment 148 #

Jordi CAÑAS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Notes that the European Single Market constitutes the largest integrated market in the world, which has raised real GDP per capita by between 12 % and 22 %s since its inception; highlights the large economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic, undermining the free movement of services and workers; stresses the need for a European Teleworking Agenda that provides for minimum and clear standards for remote work, thus minimising the negative effects on economic growth and jobs creation, as well as ensuring legal certainty throughout EU1a; __________________ 1aEuropean Parliamentary Research Service, "Single market and the pandemic: Impacts, EU action and recovery" June 2020

Amendment 149 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Calls on the Commission to incorporate the occupational health and safety aspects as key for strengthening the single market in a social sustainable way and create fair competition on the single market; consider that the Commission should adopt a new and ambitious EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work that includes a zero-vision of work related deaths; and calls on the Commission to continue to set binding occupational exposure limits of carcinogens at work;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services are laid down in the TFEU;

Amendment 150 #

Jessica POLFJÄRD

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Calls on the Member States to guarantee mobile workers adequate conditions by facilitating the coordination of social security services;

Amendment 151 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Highlights that Member States can legitimately use reasons of public interest to limit or restrict cross-border services provisions as ruled by the European Court of Justice; recalls in this regard, that this entails amongst other reasons the protection of consumers, the environment and social policy objectives and thus these should not be regarded as restrictive measures for cross-border trade services provisions which would otherwise add legal uncertainty; underlines that the principle of the country of destination respects local regulations including rules on employment law and those laid down in collective agreements; reiterates that regulated professions may be necessary for the protection of consumers, the public interest and the rule of law; recognizes that some requirements such as territorial restrictions and economic needs tests may create unjustified obstacles to cross-border establishment;

Amendment 152 #

Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Lina GÁLVEZ, Agnes JONGERIUS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Highlights that overriding reasons of public interest invoked by Member States often justify provisions restricting the access to or the pursuit of services where these provisions are proportionate as confirmed in many ruled case-laws of the European Court of Justice1a; notes that many cases of overriding reasons of public interest are based on quality and consumer protection, and its justified exceptions are non-discriminatory, proportionate, appropriate and purposeful; calls on the Commission to continue the monitoring of Member State performance in transposing and implementing legislation and to develop with Member States, social partners and stakeholders transparent and participative evaluations that should not only be based on quantitative but also qualitative criteria __________________ 1ahttps://eur- lex.europa.eu/search.html?typeOfCourtSt atus=COURT_JUSTICE&DB_TYPE_CO URT=COURT_JUSTICE&textScope0=ti- te&qid=1591182297109&DTS_DOM=EU _LAW&type=advanced〈=en&andText0= %22Overriding%20reasons%20in%20the %20public%20interest%22&SUBDOM_I NIT=EU_CASE_LAW&DTS_SUBDOM= EU_CASE_LAW

Amendment 153 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Calls on the Commission present a legislative proposal to ensure that a company, that is instructing another company with the provision of services on its behalf, can be held liable to pay to workers all due entitlements and/or contributions due to common funds or institutions of social partners regulated by law or collective agreement in addition to or in place of the employer;

Amendment 154 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Considers the Commission proposal for a revised services notification procedure would undermine the legislative competence of the Member States in the field of services and does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity; therefore calls on the Commission to withdraw this proposal;

Amendment 155 #

Johan DANIELSSON, Heléne FRITZON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Warns that without further reform of the services, reshoring of the production back to EU might be jeopardised and European businesses might lack a solid basis to compete globally and to offer quality jobs in the EU;

Amendment 156 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Calls on the Commission to combat the use of letterbox companies and undeclared work to secure that the freedom to provide services do not lead to social dumping or unfair competition;

Amendment 157 #

Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Lina GÁLVEZ, Agnes JONGERIUS, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Brando BENIFEI, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Manuel PIZARRO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3d. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that services of general economic interest (SGEI), including social services of general interest (SSGI), are secured within a framework of universal access, high quality, affordability and clear financing rules; believes that the Commission should take initiatives using all options available, based upon and consistent with Article 14 and Protocol 26 of the Treaty, and ensuring that SGEI and SSGI can be operated at appropriate level, respecting the principle of subsidiarity;

Amendment 158 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3d. Calls upon the Commission to identify protection gaps and possible necessary revisions of Directive 2008/104/EC on temporary agency work, in order to ensure decent working and employment conditions for temporary agency workers and fair competition for temporary agencies;

Amendment 159 #

Johan DANIELSSON, Heléne FRITZON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3d. Calls on the Commission and the Member State to improve EU-regulations and the coordination of national authorities in order to facilitate the detection of tax evasion; encourage the Commission and the Member States to propose a binding action plan to combat tax evasion;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas social justice and workers’ rights should not be subverted by the free movement of services in the single market; whereas environmental and social considerations have to go hand in hand in ensuring a sustainable services market free from environmental dumping and unfair competition paving the way for a just transition;

Amendment 160 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3d. Calls on Member States to ban subcontracting so that employers take direct responsibility for their workers, minimise worker turnover at the workplace where an acute risk for public health exists and halt the use of precarious contracts;

Amendment 161 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3d. Encourages the Commission to supplement the data published with relevant data arising from IMI, SOLVIT, ChAP and other relevant resources;

Amendment 162 #

Dennis RADTKE, Cindy FRANSSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)

3e. Underlines that promoting the single market, including the free movement of services and people, is paramount for tackling the economic crisis caused by COVID-19; urges all Member States to ease disproportionate and unjustified restrictions on free movement within the single market;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

Ab. Whereas the freedom to provide services is crucial to the Single Market;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the free movement of services ~~must under no circumstances underm~~should be exercised while ensurineg workers’ rights, ~~social protection or the principle of subsidiarity~~free movment of workers, social protection, and whereas digital technology can facilitate the supervision and enforcement of the rules safeguarding the rights of mobile workers;

Amendment 19 #

Abir AL-SAHLANI, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Jordi CAÑAS, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the free movement of services must ~~under no circumstances undermine~~be consistent with workers’ rights, social protection orand the principle of subsidiarity, and whereas digital technology can facilitate the supervision and enforcement of the rules safeguarding the rights of mobile workers;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Recital -A a (new)

-Aa. whereas the free movement of workers is a fundamental principle of the European Union and essential to the proper functioning of the Internal Market;

Amendment 20 #

Abir AL-SAHLANI, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. wWhereas the free movement of services ~~must under no circumstances undermine~~and workers’ rights, as well as social protection orbased on the principle of subsidiarity, support each other, and whereas digital technology can facilitate the supervision and enforcement of the rules safeguarding the rights of mobile workers;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the free movement of services must ~~under no circumstances~~not undermine workers’ rights, social protection or the principle of subsidiarity, and whereas digital technology can facilitate the supervision and enforcement of the rules safeguarding the rights of mobile workers;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the free movement of services must under no circumstances undermine workers’ rights, social protection or the principle of subsidiarity~~, and~~; whereas the protection and promotion of fair wages as well as decent working and employment conditions, play a key role in creating a well-functioning, fair and sustainable single market for quality services; whereas the freedom to provide services must not undermine fundamental rights, including social workers' and trade union rights; whereas a fully functioning market for services requires access to information as well as monitoring and enforcement of applicable rules, including safe ways to report abuses; whereas digital technology can facilitate the supervision and enforcement of ~~the rules~~legislation safeguarding the rights of mobile workers;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the free movement of services requires the free movement of workers; whereas the free movement of services must under no circumstances undermine workers’ rights, social protection orand the principle of subsidiarity~~, and~~; whereas access to information about applicable rules as well as effective compliance, monitoring and enforcement, including safe ways to report abuses are necessary preconditions for fair mobility; whereas digital technology can facilitate the supervision and enforcement of the rules safeguarding the rights of mobile workers;

Amendment 24 #

Sylvie BRUNET, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE, Véronique TRILLET-LENOIR, Ilana CICUREL, Stéphane BIJOUX, Jordi CAÑAS, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the free movement of services must under no circumstances undermine workers’ rights, social protection ~~or the principle of subsidiarity~~, trade union rights including the right to fair wages and to appropriate remuneration, the right to balance work and private life, the right to decide where and when to work and the right to equal treatment and the principle of subsidiarity; whereas a fully functioning services market requires access to information about applicable rules as well as effective compliance, monitoring and enforcement, including safe ways to report abuses, and whereas digital technology can facilitate the supervision and enforcement of the rules safeguarding the rights of mobile workers;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the free movement of services must under no circumstances undermine workers’ rights, social protection or the principle of subsidiarity, and whereas digital technology can facilitate the supervision and enforcement of the rules safeguarding the rights of mobile workers; and should therefore be promoted and used to improve information exchange and control systems and fight abuses of any kind as well as to inform workers about the rules applicable to them;

Amendment 26 #

Miriam LEXMANN

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the free movement of services must under no circumstances undermine workers’ rights, social protection or the principle of subsidiarity, and whereas digital technology, provided that it complies with the rules of personal data protection and privacy, can facilitate the supervision and enforcement of the rules safeguarding the rights of mobile workers;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the current Covid-19 crisis has shed light on and exacerbated existing short-comings in the protection of mobile and cross border workers active in the internal market in particular with regard to their working conditions, access to health and safety, social protection, safe transport and decent accommodation fulfilling sanitary requirements and social distancing measures, as well as support in order to report abuses; whereas the Commission guidelines on restoring freedom of movement under COVID-19 have focused rather on the provision of safe services for citizens rather than also ensuring safe conditions for workers providing services; whereas workers must not be left behind in the crisis as a result of their employers having exercised the freedom to provide services under EU law;

Amendment 28 #

Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE, Sylvie BRUNET, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Véronique TRILLET-LENOIR, Ilana CICUREL, Jordi CAÑAS, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Stéphane BIJOUX

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the free movement of services shouldn’t be to the detriment of worker’s representation rights, including the right to negotiate, conclude and enforce collective agreements and to take collective action, and not infringe upon the autonomy of social partners when exercising these fundamental rights in pursuit of social interests and the protection of workers; whereas any fair and sustainable mobility requires placing workers, their representatives and trade unions, as well as workers’ interests and long standing expertise at its core to ensure it is oriented on the basic needs of society;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the role of the European Labour Authority is in particular to ensure the effective, consistent and efficient application of European rules and to monitor compliance with Union law in the field of labour mobility in the context of the free movement of workers and the freedom to provide services in the internal market;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union stipulates that the Union ~~is to promote social justice and protection;~~ shall establish an internal market that works for a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress, and a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment;

Amendment 30 #

Abir AL-SAHLANI, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas there is no EU wide, systematic data gathering, or digital tracking system, in order to provide adequate data on the total numbers of mobile, frontier, cross border and seasonal workers, or to allow workers to easily and quickly establish their social security coverage status and claim various entitlements accrued;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the Single Market can only be sustainable and increase prosperity if it is ensured that the exchange of goods and services is based on fair rules regarding social security, workers' rights, working and employment conditions, gender equality, as well as the protection of consumers and the environment;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. Whereas free movement of services stimulates economic growth by enabling people to travel, study, shop and work across borders and by allowing companies to recruit from a larger talent pool;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the service market is a gateway for labour market participation for all groups, especially for young people, migrants and long-term unemployed;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the free movement of services should be fair and not result in unfair competition;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas the current Covid-19 crisis has exposed and exacerbated social dumping and the existing precariousness of the situations of many mobile workers and gaps in the implementation and enforcement of existing legislation for their protection; whereas posted workers in the framework of the provision of services have experienced abuses in particular with regard to their working conditions, access to health and safety, social protection, safe transport and decent accommodation;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas unnecessary infringements still are a reality, hindering jobs and prosperity; whereas excessive infringements have escalated during the corona crisis; whereas SMEs are most vulnerable to such infringements;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas there are over 2.3 million posting operations for the provision of services in other Member States;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)

Bc. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic is a serious threat to public health, impacting the health and lives of all persons residing in the EU as well as the health and care systems in the Member States; whereas the current COVID-19 crisis has shed light on existing short- comings in the protection of mobile workers, such as cross-border workers, seasonal workers and posted workers, in particular with regard to their working and employment conditions, access to health and safety, social protection, safe transport and decent accommodation in line with sanitary and social distancing requirements, as well as support in order to report abuses; whereas women and young mobile workers are often particularly vulnerable;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)

Bc. whereas the massive outbreak of Covid-19 in slaughterhouses in Germany, directly related to poor labour and housing conditions as well as the common use of subcontracting based on the free movement of services, illustrates the potential impact of the free movement of services on public health;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) stipulates that the Union ~~is to promote social justice and protection~~and its internal market shall amongst others work for the sustainable development of Europe, a social market economy, social progress and the promotion of social justice and protection; whereas according Article 9 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the Union shall take into account requirements linked to the promotion of a high level of employment, the guarantee of adequate social protection, the fight against social exclusion, and a high level of education, training and protection of human health in defining and implementing its policies and activities;

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Recital B d (new)

Bd. whereas the current rules applicable to worker’s mobility in the European Union allow fraud and social dumping, undermining workers’ rights and damaging fair competition between Member States;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Recital B e (new)

Be. whereas liberalisation of services came along with the assumption that competition would be synonymous with accessible prices and better quality services, while in fact it often lead to a domination of a very small number of large companies, increasingly precarious employment and increased costs for consumers and degradation of the services provided;

Amendment 42 #

Abir AL-SAHLANI, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Recital B f (new)

Bf. whereas the majority workers in the European Union are employed by SMEs; whereas the protection of workers’ rights must be a priority for every kind of company and every form of employment; whereas initiatives targeting SMEs and start-ups must not provide opportunities for businesses to circumvent existing rules, lower workers’ and consumer protection standards, or increase the risk of corporate fraud, criminal activities and letterbox companies; recalls that unfair competition is the dominant source of difficulties for genuine SMEs;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas the ~~social implications of the free movement of services mean the EU needs a robust cohesion policy and a fair and geographically balanced industrial policy~~Union needs a robust cohesion policy and a fair and geographically balanced internal market to tackle the social implications of the free movement of services; whereas effective regulation is crucial to ensure decent employment and working conditions, quality services and fair competition;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. wWhereas the ~~social implications of the~~ free movement of services ~~mean the EU needs~~, a robust cohesion policy and a ~~fair and geographically balanced industrial policy~~forward looking EU industrial policy contribute to job creation and upward social convergence;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas the social implications of the free movement of services ~~mean the EU needs a robust cohesion policy and a fair and geographically balanced industrial policy~~can affect both regions of origin (demographic decline, shortage of workers and skills, reduction in tax revenue) and regions hosting mobile workers (social dumping and wage competition); whereas these consequences therefore mean the EU needs a robust cohesion policy and a fair and geographically balanced industrial policy that must reinforce social cohesion and in that way contribute to the fight against social dumping;

Amendment 46 #

Sylvie BRUNET, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE, Véronique TRILLET-LENOIR, Ilana CICUREL, Stéphane BIJOUX, Jordi CAÑAS

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas the social implications of the free movement of services mean the EU needs a robust cohesion policy and a fair and geographically balanced industrial policy, while the success of industrial renewal and, in the long term, the competitiveness of Europe’s economy is seriously jeopardised by the overall demographic decline in European countries;

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas the social implications of the free movement of services mean the EU needs a robust cohesion policy and a fair and geographically balanced industrial policy and equally mean that the free movement of services should go hand in hand with quality job opportunities and upward social convergence within the European Union;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the aim of the European Accessibility Directive is to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market by approximating the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning accessibility requirements for certain services, in particular by eliminating and preventing obstacles to the free movement of certain accessible products and services resulting from divergent accessibility requirements in the Member States, and whereas the demand for accessible services is high and the number of persons with disabilities is projected to increase significantly;

Amendment 49 #

Marc BOTENGA, Konstantinos ARVANITIS

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas unfair competition and a race to the bottom between Member States as regards employment, social security and taxation rules, including through artificial arrangements, continue to be an obstacle to fair competition based on quality and sustainable development, including for SMEs; whereas initiatives targeting SMEs and start-ups must not provide opportunities for businesses to circumvent existing rules, lower workers’ and consumer protection standards, or increase the risk of corporate fraud, criminal activities and letterbox companies; recalls that unfair competition is the dominant source of difficulties for genuine SMEs;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas ~~Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union stipulates that the Union is to promote social justice and protection~~the Treaties are primary European Union legislation and are the basis and ground rules for all EU action; whereas Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union stipulates that the Union is to promote social justice and protection; whereas Article 9 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union states that in defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall take into account requirements linked to the promotion of a high level of employment,the guarantee of adequate social protection, the fight against social exclusion, and a high level of education, training and protection of human health;

Amendment 50 #

Cindy FRANSSEN, Dennis RADTKE

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the European services card as proposed by the European Commission would mean transferring primary responsibility for the compliance procedure to the home Member State, in contradiction with the established principle of the host country; whereas differences between regulatory models do not in themselves indicate that reform is necessary; whereas many regulations are based on tradition and experience and whereas the principle of 'equivalence' is based on the very existence of these different systems;

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas social and environmental dumping between Member States, including through artificial arrangements, is first and foremost at the expense of workers, consumers and law- abiding SMEs and continues to be an obstacle to fair competition based on quality services and sustainable development;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. Taking into account the vulnerable position of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, free movement of services should not lead to a decline of labour conditions, health and safety of workers.

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas, very often, red tape hinders the full implementation of the free movement of professionals and the recognition of professional qualifications;

Amendment 54 #

Cindy FRANSSEN, Dennis RADTKE

Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas the revision notification procedure proposed by the Commission would hinder the exercise of legislative and regulatory powers so that a national or local rule which could better achieve objectives for the regulation of service activities could be deprived of enforceability; whereas the implementation of preventive action prohibiting the implementation of a notified measure would unduly constrain the intervention capacities of Member States and local authorities;

Amendment 55 #

Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas policies targeting SMEs and start-ups must not provide opportunities for businesses to circumvent existing rules, lower the protection of workers and consumers, or increase the risk of corporate fraud, criminal activities and letterbox companies;

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)

Cb. Whereas the free movement of services should follow the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights and should not affect the further implementation of the Pillar.

Amendment 57 #

Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas differences in national regulations and standards should not primarily be considered as obstacles to free movement;

Amendment 58 #

Draft opinion
Recital C c (new)

Cc. whereas the European Labour Authority (ELA) was established in 2019 with the aim of coordinating and supporting Member States and the Commission in the effective application and enforcement of Union law related to labour mobility and social security coordination; whereas ELA is expected to reach its full operational capacity by 2024;

Amendment 59 #

Draft opinion
Recital C c (new)

Cc. whereas it is essential to maintain and improve the legal public authorities‘ and member states' right to regulate in the services sector; whereas the single market must not exert pressure on standards concerning social rights of workers, consumers and environmental protection;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union stipulates that the Union is to promote social justice and protection, and whereas it is important to strengthen value chains in the Union’s internal market which reduce the European economy’s dependence on imports and form a basis which, with appropriate technological developments and innovation, will in the longer term increase the export capacity of the economies of both Europe and the Member States together with European and domestic security of supply;

Amendment 60 #

Abir AL-SAHLANI, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Recital C d (new)

Cd. whereas the Services Directive excluded wholly or partially social services, healthcare services, and other public services in recognition of the special regulatory frameworks needed for these services to operate in the general interest in line with Protocol 26 and Article 14 of the TFEU;

Amendment 61 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)

-1. Regrets that only 3,9 % of EU citizens in the working age reside in an EU country other than that of their citizenship in 2018; calls for increased efforts from the Commission and Member States to reduce mobility barriers for workers and businesses;

Amendment 62 #

Abir AL-SAHLANI, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)

-1a. Calls on the social partners along with other stakeholders to play their part in calling on governments to revitalise the European services sector;

Amendment 63 #

Abir AL-SAHLANI, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 b (new)

-1b. Calls for a more efficient coordination at EU level and enhanced commitment on addressing key social challenges in the areas, in particular portability of social entitlements of mobile workers while upholding the diversity of national systems and respecting Member States competences as enshrined in the Treaties as well as the principle of proportionality and subsidiarity;

Amendment 64 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Oppos~~Takes the ~~introduction of the country-of-origin principle, and considers that the free movement of services must be achieved without undermining workers’ rights and social right~~view that European industry plays a leading role in the production of high-value-added products and services and enforces the highest social, labour and environmental standards; stresses that the free movement of services must be achieved without undermining workers’ rights and social rights while pointing out that we must enforce European economic protection aspects and the free movement of goods and services in the internal market at least at the same level as the pillar of social rights and that we must robustly uphold the interests of the Member States and of Europe vis-à-vis our competitors;

Amendment 65 #

Abir AL-SAHLANI, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Opposes the introduction of ~~the~~any country-of-origin principle, and considers that the free movement of services must be achieved without undermining workers’ rights and social rights; recalls that the principles of equal treatment and free movement do not apply only to service providers, but equally to workers; stresses that the social rights can only be guaranteed if existing collective agreements and legislation are applicable, enforced and legally binding for services providers in public tenders;

Amendment 66 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Opposes the introduc~~Notes that the country of destination ofis the ~~country-of-origin principle, and considers that the free movement of services must be achieved without undermining workers’ rights and social rights~~principle guiding the services directive and considers that this provision should not be changed; considers that the free movement of services and labour mobility will benefit when the rules on working conditions and health and safety of mobile workers’ are upheld;

Amendment 67 #

Beata SZYDŁO, Elżbieta RAFALSKA, Anna ZALEWSKA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Opposes the introduction of the country-of-origin principle, and c~~Considers that the free movement of services must be achieved without undermining workers’ rights and social rights;

Amendment 68 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Opposes the introduction of the country-of-origin principle, and c~~Considers that the free movement of services must be achieved without undermining workers’ rights and social rights;

Amendment 69 #

Sylvie BRUNET, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE, Véronique TRILLET-LENOIR, Ilana CICUREL, Stéphane BIJOUX, Jordi CAÑAS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Opposes the introduction of the country-of-origin principle, and c~~Considers that the free movement of services must be achieved without undermining workers’ rights and social rights;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union stipulates that the Union is to promote social justice and protection; whereas the principle of equal treatment is enshrined in Article 45(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and prohibits any kind of discrimination on grounds of nationality between European workers as regards employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment;

Amendment 70 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Opposes the introduction of the country-of-origin principle, and considers that the free movement of services must be achieved without undermining workers’ rights and social rights; considers that the mobility of workers providing these services should not only be free but also fair, notably in regard to equal rights, working conditions and social protection; calls on the Commission and Member States to amend current legislation prioritising workers' rights over the free movement of services.

Amendment 71 #

Sylvie BRUNET, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE, Véronique TRILLET-LENOIR, Ilana CICUREL, Stéphane BIJOUX, Jordi CAÑAS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Opposes the introduction of the country-of-origin principle, and considers that the free movement of services must be achieved without undermining workers’ rights and social rights, and while combating every form of social dumping, particularly where it concerns wages, working conditions and health and safety, which is particularly important in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic;

Amendment 72 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Opposes the introduction of the country-of-origin principle, and considers that the free movement of services must be achieved without undermining workers’ rights and social rights; underlines that the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights would contribute to enhance European workers’ rights and protection and thus to a fair mobility within the European Union;

Amendment 73 #

Romana TOMC

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. OCalls on the Commission and the Member States to adhere consistently to the European Treaties in planning and implementing labour legislation; opposes the introduction of the country-of-origin principle, and considers that the free movement of services must be achieved without undermining workers’ rights and social rights;

Amendment 74 #

Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Lina GÁLVEZ, Agnes JONGERIUS, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Johan DANIELSSON, Heléne FRITZON, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Manuel PIZARRO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Opposes the introduction of the country-of-origin principle, and ~~consider~~stresses that the free movement of services must be achieved without undermining workers’ rights and social rights;

Amendment 75 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Stresses that Union legislation related to the free movement of services shall not in any way affect the exercise of fundamental rights as recognised in the Member States and at Union level, including the right of freedom to strike or to take other action covered by the specific industrial relations systems in Member States, in accordance with national law and/or practice, nor affect the right to negotiate, to conclude and enforce collective agreements, or to take collective action in accordance with national law and/or practice; [This should become the first paragraph.]

Amendment 76 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Underlines that in order to be free, safe and fair, the future of the free movement of services needs increasing cohesion in the internal market; highlights the importance in that regard of public investment, fair and progressive taxation, public spending on public services and infrastructures as well as social, workers’ and trade union rights; urges the Commission to review the priorities for the future of free movement of services in this view;

Amendment 77 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to undertake initiatives aimed primarily at combating the shadow economy and undeclared work, as these phenomena have an adverse impact on employee protection and distort competition; calls, at the same time, for employers to be supported by providing them with predictable and non- discriminatory operating conditions so that they can continue to generate growth and provide jobs;

Amendment 78 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to revoke burdensome administrative practices and obstacles in the access to some regulated professions, abolishing protected titles that only exist in a single EU country, as well as regulatory restrictions to cross boarder work which creates unjustified barriers that deprive citizens of jobs, welfare, social benefits, and entrepreneurs of opportunities;

Amendment 79 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. underlines the need for good cooperation between Member States towards data collection regarding mobile, frontier, cross-border and seasonal workers in order to bridge gaps in national practices, gain better access to available information and create a predictable and accessible internal labour market;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union stipulates that the Union ~~is to promote~~and its internal market shall work for sustainable development, social market economy, social progress and the promotion of social justice and protection;

Amendment 80 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Reminds that administrative practices and regulation of services are necessary to protect workers, consumers, the environment as well as to secure a level playing field, legal certainty and predictability for entrepreneurs and businesses;

Amendment 81 #

Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Lina GÁLVEZ, Agnes JONGERIUS, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Brando BENIFEI, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Manuel PIZARRO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. reiterates that quality employment and quality services necessitate regulation at European level including on elements such as sustainable development, protection of workers, consumers and the environment, as well as the quality of services; stresses that quality legislation is a long-term investment which should take into account not only the business interest, but also the quality of services, including consumers, workers’, environmental protection, sustainable development as well as the general public interest;

Amendment 82 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Considers additional national provisions as regards the access to and the exercise of specific professions, in view of the public interest and the protection of workers and/or consumers, not an obstacle to the deepening of the Single Market;

Amendment 83 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Reminds that administrative practices and regulation of services are justified to protect workers, consumers, the environment and secure a level playing-field, legal certainty and predictability for entrepreneurs and business;

Amendment 84 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Notes that some public procurement methods in Member States creates obstacles for service providers from other Member States to compete on equal footing, especially for SMEs, depriving citizens on jobs;

Amendment 85 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1c. Highlights that across the European Union a race to the bottom and unfair competition between Member States in employment, security and taxation rules are creating unjustified barriers for quality and sustainable development and deprive citizens of jobs, consumers of choices, and entrepreneurs of opportunities; recognises that in respect of the professional services sector, different approaches to regulation do not per se constitute an obstacle to the deepening of the internal market; stresses that regulation on access to, and the exercise of, professions may be necessary for the protection of public interest and consumer protection1a; __________________ 1aas also stated in the European Parliament resolution of 26 May 2016 on the Single Market Strategy (2015/2354(INI)), https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/doc ument/TA-8-2016-0237_EN.html

Amendment 86 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1c. Recalls that one of the objectives of the amended Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services, is to ensure the protection of posted workers during their posting in relation to the freedom to provide services, by laying down mandatory provisions regarding working conditions and the protection of workers' health and safety; calls on the Member States to ensure that they meet the minimum requirements of the amended directive and to make full use of the additional scope offered in view of a better protection of posted workers and fair competition between service providers;

Amendment 87 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1c. Recalls that the subsidiarity principle is a fundamental principle of the internal market; recalls the constitutional right of Member States to go beyond the minimum levels established by European Union directives as part of their internal democratic legislative processes in order to reach policy objectives such as ensuring quality services and a high level of protection of workers, consumers and the environment;

Amendment 88 #

Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Lina GÁLVEZ, Agnes JONGERIUS, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Brando BENIFEI, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Manuel PIZARRO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1d. Calls on the Member States to transpose the revised Posting of Workers Directive in a correct, timely and ambitious manner, ensuring full equal treatment and protection of posted workers in the framework of providing services; is of the opinion that the Directive must be transposed so as to ensure the obligation of the employer to reimburse posted workers for travel, board and lodging expenses in all situations, bearing in mind that such expenditures actually incurred on account of the posting shall be paid on top of the remuneration; highlights that the COVID-19 outbreak sheds light on the injustices related to posting practices such as gross remuneration of posted workers to a large extent being made up of tax- free posting allowances other than compensations for expenditure on travel, board and lodging, which in turn has a considerable impact on the levels of social benefits that unemployed posted workers may be able to claim; Calls on the Commission to broaden the legal basis so that it is ensured that protection of workers’ rights is placed on at least equal footing or above the free movement of services

Amendment 89 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1d. Calls on the Member States to transpose the revised Posting of Workers Directive into national law in a correct, timely and ambitious manner, ensuring equal treatment and the protection of posted workers, in particular with a view to remuneration and obligation of employers to reimburse posted workers expenditures incurred on account of the posting, such as travel, board and lodging expenses, in accordance with the national law and/or practice applicable to the employment relationship;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union stipulates that the Union is to promote social justice and protection, along with full employment;

Amendment 90 #

Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Lina GÁLVEZ, Agnes JONGERIUS, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Manuel PIZARRO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)

1e. Recalls that the Commission proposal for a revised services notification procedure undermines the legislative competence of the Member States in the field of services; recalls that the proposal could not be adopted due to the lack of an agreement in Council; calls urgently on the Commission to withdraw the proposal

Amendment 91 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)

1e. Underlines that the Commission proposal for a revised services notification procedure undermines the legislative competence of Member States in the field of services; highlights that the controversial proposal is blocked in the Council; calls on the Commission to withdraw its proposal;

Amendment 92 #

Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Lina GÁLVEZ, Agnes JONGERIUS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 f (new)

1f. Recalls that the Parliament on 21 October 2019 called on the Commission to withdraw its proposal for European Services e-card; recalls that the Commission’s neglects and ignores the impact of the legislative proposal for a European services e-card on the enforcement of companies’ obligations and workers’ rights; recalls that the Commission should not present any proposal that undermines the enforcement of workers rights; regrets that the Commission phrased its Campaigning about the services e-card as a consumer-friendly solution ignoring the negative impact on a European level playing field as regards workers rights;

Amendment 93 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 f (new)

1f. Is strongly concerned about the Commission proposal for a European services e-card and its impact on the enforcement capacities of host Member States with regard to the obligations of companies as well as workers' rights, consumer protection and the quality of services; warns that the proposal will create legislative loopholes, hinder effective controls and enforcement because of de facto introduction of the country of origin principle; reiterates therefore its call on the Commission to withdraw its proposal;

Amendment 94 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 g (new)

1g. Underlines that the ambition of the EU Green Deal and the need for just transitions must be reflected also in the approach to the internal services market, promoting a high level of social and environmental standards as a pre- requisite for productivity increases; highlights the role that public procurement should play to achieve these objectives; Urges member states to increase awareness and make better use of the existing schemes1a for promoting green services in public procurement2a in order to reach a circular economy; highlights the importance of services which facilitate a measurable reduction of the environmental footprint (“green services”)3a; calls on the European Commission to initiate work on a common definition of green services; __________________ 1asuch as: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/pdf/ 190927_EU_GPP_criteria_for_food_and_ catering_services_SWD_(2019)_366_final .pdf 2aEuropean Parliament Policy Department briefing "The European Services Sector and the Green Transition"(2020), https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/BRIE/2020/648768/IPOL_BRI(20 20)648768_EN.pdf 3aEuropean Parliament Policy Department briefing "The European Services Sector and the Green Transition"(2020), https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/BRIE/2020/648768/IPOL_BRI(20 20)648768_EN.pdf

Amendment 95 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 g (new)

1g. Underlines that the objectives of the European Pillar of Social Rights, the Sustainable Development Goals, the European Green Deal and the Gender Equality Strategy must also be reflected in the approach to the Single Market for services, promoting high social and environmental standards as a pre- requisite for productivity increases; highlights the importance of public procurement to achieve these objectives;

Amendment 96 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission, Member States and local authorities to ~~work together~~cooperate closely with ~~the~~ social partners to devise strategies to guarantee and facilitate the voluntary – rather than enforced – mobility of workers, by implementing the right public policies and providing high- quality job opportunities which match workers skillsand ELA on improving access to information for workers and employers as well as the enforcement of rules regarding fair labour mobility;

Amendment 97 #