W6 Freedoms: Services and Establishment Flashcards
Article 56 TFEU
Freedom to provide services
Which article establishes the freedom to provide services?
Art 56 TFEU
What is a service?
Art 57: Anything provided for renumeration that isn’t a good, capital, or person, including industrial, commercial, craft, or professional work.
In practice: A service is temporary by nature
Which services have special exceptions?
Transport and banking
Auth: Art 58
Where are the statutory justifications for Art 56 exceptions found?
Art 62 TFEU
Art 62 TFEU
Justifications for exceptions for freedom to provide services
What are the Art 62 justifications for restrictions on services?
Public policy
Public security
Public health
Exercise of official authority
Healthcare Directive 2011/24
Governs movement for the purpose of receiving healthcare
Information Society Directive 2000/31 and 2015/1535
Governs e-commerce service providers (“Information Society Services”) the right not to be restricted
Governs e-commerce service providers the right not to be restricted
Information Society Directive 2000/31 and 2015/1535
Governs movement for the purpose of receiving healthcare
Healthcare Directive 2011/24
Digital Markets Act
Additional restrictions on providers of e-commerce platforms
Digital Services Act
Amends Information Society Directive with additional restrictions/regulations on digital service providers
How to determine if a composite service can be classified as an Information Society Service?
1) Can the offline and online elements be separated?
2) Is the platform deciding on essential aspects of the service, e.g. price?
Elite Taxi (UBER)
Facts: Spanish court requested a preliminary ruling. Ruled that Uber services qualified as transport rather than e-commerce, allowing more MS discretion. Uber had enough control over the physical aspect of the service (taxi ride) to put this into the transport remit.
Significance: How to determine composite services as falling under the Information Society Directive
AirBnB Ireland
Facts: Criminal proceedings launched in France against AirBnb Ireland for not holding a real estate licence. Ruled to be an information society service since AirBnb does not set prices, lettors were able to set their own T&Cs, etc and as such any restrictions must be notified to the Commission. As France had not notified the commission, the requirement was not enforceable.
Significance: How to determine composite services falling under the Information Society Directive (cf Elite Taxi Uber). Failure to notify restrictions on ISS to Commission makes them unenforceable.
Any restrictions on the freedom to provide services must be __________
Notified to the European Commission (authority: Art 15.7)
Luisi & Carbone
Facts: Two Italian nationals residing in Italy bought more foreign currency than allowed by Italian law and were issued fines. They challenged the fines as they had purchased the currency for tourism in other MS and one had also travelled to Germany for a medical procedure in that time, so the Italian law impeded free movement of capital and free movement of services. Italian court made a preliminary ruling reference. Italian law was deemed non-compliant - they could impose controls to verify that cash was used for authorized movements of capital, but could not set a limit on amount for authorized movements.
Significance: Free movement of services implies the right to carry necessary funds to pay for such services. Example of freedom of capital and freedom of services overlapping.
True or false: When freedom to provide services overlaps with another freedom in a case, freedom to provide services takes precedence
False. Can apply the law of multiple freedoms to the same case, e.g. Luisi & Carbone.
Visser
Facts: Request from NL Supreme Court for preliminary ruling. Challenge to a zoning plan designating certain zones as being exclusively reserved for retail trade in bulky goods, as an owner of one of the premises wanted to lease to shoe/clothing shops. Note that there was not a strong inter-MS element here - customers may come from other MS, and the court focussed on harmonization as an objective. Court ruled that EU law was engaged, and retail of goods is a service, but the reasoning for the zoning plan (maintain viability of city centre) could be a justification for ORPI if all justification criteria are satisfied.
Significance: Retail sale of goods is a service, so restricting opening hours affects both freedom to provide goods and freedom to provide services.
How to determine establishment vs services
Can look at infrastructure: did they move house, did they set up a branch? Authority: Commission v Germany
Can look at duration, regularity, periodity, and continuity. Authority: Gebhard
Commission v Germany (Insurance) (services/establishment)
Facts: Insurance undertaking of another MS maintaining a permanent presence in the host state was not a branch/agency, only an office managed by the undertaking’s staff. Ruled to fall within Art 49 as still demonstrated permanency.
Significance: Existence of infrastructure, such as setting up premises or moving house, is an indication something has the permanency of establishment over the impermanence of services
Gebhard
Facts: German lawyer working in Italy for 10 years was penalised for advertising his services as that of a lawyer. Question for court: services or establishment?
Significance: 10 years was found to be long enough to be establishment. Established the duration, regularity, periodity, and continuity test for establishment vs services. Also ruled that Art 49 doesn’t interfere with national requirements (such as use of professional title), but those requirements must be non-discriminatory, justified by ORPI, and suitable/proportionate to their objective.
How is a cross-border element engaged re: freedom to provide services?
Even if no person moves, if the service crosses a border, then there is a cross-border element.
Additionally, if either the service provider or recipient crosses a border, then there is a cross-border element.
How does the Art 57 requirement for renumeration apply to Information Society Services run off of ad cents?
The service recipient does not need to be the one paying. As long as someone is paid, this criteria is satisfied. Authority: Deliege
Deliege
Facts: Belgian Judo competitor challenged the Belgian Judo Federation selection service for impeding her career and freedom to provide services. Federation argued there was no cross border element to the selection criteria. Court held that even if selection occurred purely internally, if athletes travel to competitions in other MS then a cross-border element is engaged.
Significance: Wide interpretation of both cross border element and requirement for renumeration.
Laval
Facts: Swedish trade union imposed a boycott on a Swedish construction company who was bringing in cheaper workers from other MS. Was ruled a restriction on Art 56.
Significance: Example of Art 56 applications
Which Art 56 restrictions can only be justified with statutory justifications?
Restrictions which restrict freedom to provide services on grounds of nationality, or other distinctly applicable measures
Which Art 56 restrictions can use case law justifications?
Restrictions which are indistinctly applicable or introduce no formal distinctions/do not protect nationals but nevertheless restrict commercial freedom.
Calfa
Facts: Request for preliminary ruling from Greek court. An Italian national was found guilty for drug-related offences under Greek law (while visiting as a tourist) and expelled for life from Greece. Challenge as to whether this impeded her right to movement and right to provide services, as this measure would not be taken against a Greek national guilty of the same offence (and as such was discriminatory on grounds of nationality). Court ruled that criminal convictions can only be used as a public policy justification if there was a sufficiently serious threat, and expulsion cannot be automatic.
Significance: Example of Art 56 restriction on grounds of nationality and narrow interpretation of public policy justification.
Van Binsbergen
Facts: Dutch qualified lawyer representing a Dutch client moved to Belgium and was told he could not continue to represent his client. Dutch rules said only lawyers established in NL had rights of audience.
Significance: Example of distinctly applicable measure. Requirements on providing services are compatible with EU law if equally applicable to host state nationals, objectively justified with ORPI, and proportionate.
Sager v Dennemeyer
Facts: Legal services in Germany require German legal qualifications, must have passed German exams. British company was advising German company re: patent re-registration and didn’t have any German-qualified lawyers, and licences weren’t available for patent renewal services. British company argued the restriction was a breach of Art 56
Significance: Overriding public interest requirements can be used as justifications for any indistinctly applicable measures where the public interest isn’t economic. Also an early example of the court favouring the market access test: any restriction which may impede a service provider from another MS providing them in the host state is unlawful under Art 56.