Europese Beweging:
Seminar 'Important Developments in the EU Internal Market: Free Movements of Goods in Services and Institutional Capacity'

Description

European citizens and businesses enjoy the benefits of the free movement of goods and services on a daily basis. For national authorities the application of these rules may raise both novel legal issues and practical questions that require cooperation between authorities within the same country and between different Member States. At EU level, institutional mechanisms have been established to facilitate this cooperation.

The sessions in the first day will start with an explanation of the general legal framework for the free movement of goods and services and the conditions under which certain restrictions may be imposed by the Member States. Then there will be a detailed analysis of the latest jurisprudence of the EU Courts. These legal developments will be linked to the institutional structures and administrative procedures that Member States must put in place in order to apply EU law effectively.

The second day will deal with issues regarding the new legislative framework for the safety of products (NLF) and the Internal Market information System. A special session will be dedicated to the experiences of the Member States with the administrative simplification required by the Services directive and the national bodies designated for the accreditation under the NFL.

Participants will have the opportunity to interact with Commission officials and national experts to consider the impact of EU rules and the possibilities afforded by EU procedures.

Method and Objectives

The seminar will use a mixture of methods such as lectures, discussions and case studies, all focused on practical examples and relevant issues for the daily work of national officials. The seminar aims to give the participants a comprehensive understanding of how Treaty rules on free movement of goods and services must be applied, the limits on the discretion of Member States in restricting market freedoms and the institutional mechanisms for ensuring the free movement of goods and services.

Target Group

The seminar is addressed to national officials from central ministries and local and regional authorities who deal with the application of rules on the provision of goods and services as well as to representatives of businesses/businesses associations which are concerned about obstacles to the operations of their members.

Discussion And Dissemination

In order to facilitate fruitful exchange of views between national officials, participants are kindly requested to submit questions and cases for discussion and analysis using the attached form. Immediately after the seminar, EIPA will prepare summaries of the main points of discussion that will be provided to participants and distributed widely to inform public administrations in the EU.

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