Conclusie Raad: "goed functionerende dienstenmarkt opent kansen voor een concurrerende en sociale markteconomie" (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Hongaars voorzitterschap Europese Unie 1e helft 2011 i, gepubliceerd op donderdag 10 maart 2011, 20:30.

Brussels, 10 March 2011

Better functioning of the Single Market for services gives rise to new opportunities for a highly competitive social market economy

Today the Council endorsed the results of the mutual evaluation process of the Services Directive and the possible future steps based on this process by adopting Conclusions on a better functioning single market for services. The chair of the Competitiveness Council, Minister Zoltán Cséfalvay said: “The consensus achieved in 2006 led to the Services Directive that has been delivering results ever since. Today we are completing the first ever mutual evaluation exercise in the EU by looking at the directive’s implementation. The ambition of the Hungarian presidency has been to send a strong political message from the Council that the better functioning of the Single Market for services gives rise to new opportunities for a highly competitive social market economy.”

The Services Directive was adopted in 2006 following long and difficult negotiations. Some Member States had been very ambitious in their plans for the directive while others felt it was going too fast and too far. Back then the Council managed to work out a compromise and the directive has been delivering results ever since.

Following the transposition of the Directive by 2009, Member States undertook the first ever mutual evaluation exercise to assess its impact on the functioning of the single market for services.

The Hungarian presidency took the challenge of formulating a common message on behalf of the Council that is acceptable to all Member States. Although the divergences among Member States that we have witnessed in 2006 might still exist in some areas within the services sector the commonly agreed conclusions underline the importance of a more integrated Single Market for Services for Europe’s economy and invite the Member States to cooperate closely in order to move towards this goal.