The economics of the Services Directive

In this paper for Contratto e impresa, Juan Delgado, describes the underlying economic logic of the Services Directive and its potential economic impact. Europe’s services sector is far from reaching its full potential. The Single Market Programme has been effective in removing obstacles to the cross border movement of goods and capital but the services sector, has not received much attention. This has resulted in most services being regulated locally and services markets becoming more fragmented.