Press Release: Freedom to provide services and freedom of establishment: infringement procedures against Belgium, Germany, Greece and Spain

The European Commission has taken action to put an end to obstacles to the freedom of establishment and to the free movement of services in Belgium, Germany, Greece and Spain. The Commission will formally request Belgium to amend its rules requiring training companies wishing to operate in the French-speaking Walloon region to have their main business base in that region, which the Commission considers to be incompatible with EC Treaty rules on the freedom to provide services. The Commission will also formally request Germany to amend the parts of its law on chimney sweeps that the Commission considers to be incompatible with EC Treaty rules on the freedom of establishment (Article 43) and the freedom to provide services. Meanwhile the Commission will formally request Greece to modify its rules concerning the operation of certification bodies within the national "Get Certified" programme. The Commission considers that the requirement for an accreditation body to perform on-the-spot checks in Greece of the businesses that its associated certification body has certified is incompatible with EC Treaty rules on the free movement of services (Article 49). These formal requests take the form of “reasoned opinions”, the second stage of the infringement procedure laid down in Article 226 of the EC Treaty. If there is no satisfactory reply within two months, the Commission may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice. Finally the Commission has decided, under Article 228 of the EC Treaty, to send a letter of formal notice asking Spain for full information on its execution of a European Court judgement concerning private security services.