Directive On Services In The Internal Market

Economic Studies, etc.

Final version of the Services Directive Regulatory Impact Assessment as submitted to Government

Forfas input into the Services Directive Regulatory Impact Assessment – [pdf file, 1.09mb], September 2010

The European Commission has published a study on 10 December 2009 on the non-discrimination clause in Article 20(2) of the Services Directive

EU Commission Report the Impact of Free Movement of Workers in the Context of EU Enlargement, 18 November 2008

Forfas input into the Services Directive Regulatory Impact Assessment – [pdf file, 420kb], October 2008

eGovernment: International Best Practices – Forfas, September 2008

The Irish Economy in the Early 21st Century, National Economic Social Council (NESC) Report [pdf file, 1.56mb], July 2008

UK Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has launched a Public Consultation on UK plans to implement the Services Directive, 8 November 2007

Undeclared Work in the European Union - Eurobarometer Survey [pdf file, 1.07mb], October 2007

The European University Institute in Florence published a paper – Setting the Scene: How did Services get to Bolkestein and Why? – July 2007

UK Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform published a report on the Services Directive Point of Single Contact, 11 June 2007

OECD Economics Dept Working Paper 449 – The EU’s Single Market: At your service? - [pdf file, 190kb]

Irish Times article – Firms 'risk losing' immigrant staff to other EU States, 27 April 2007

Irish Times article – Census belies inflated view of immigrant level, 7 April 2007

Irish Times article – A Sector that really does the State a Service, 23 March 2007

Services trade and domestic regulation - OECD Trade Policy Working Paper No. 49, 14 February 2007

Article on competitiveness by Don Thornhill, Chairman, National Competitiveness Council, Sunday Business Post, 11 February 2007

Sunday Tribune article – Economy still demanding workers, 7 Jan 2007.

Irish Times article – Lack of displacement by foreign workers, 6 Jan 2007.

Irish Times article – Irish-owned exporters increase sales, 5 Jan 2007.

Irish Times article – More companies hiring temporary and contract workers, 5 Jan 2007.

Business Services, Trade and Costs - OECD Trade Policy Working Paper No. 46, 13 December 2006

Business attitudes towards cross-border sales and consumer protection – Summary Eurobarometer Survey [pdf file, 598kb], December 2006

Business attitudes towards cross-border sales and consumer protection – Analytical Report Eurobarometer Survey [pdf file, 598kb], December 2006

Irish Times article – Immigration has been all gain for the State.

Dynamic Gains from Trade – OECD Trade Policy Working Paper No 43, 24 November 2006

Economic and Social Research Institute study, 7 November 2006 – Migrants Experience of Racism and Discrimination – This study reports the results of a survey conducted in Summer 2005 to assess the prevalence and degree of discrimination reported by recent migrants.

Economic and Social Research Institute study, November 2006, Immigrants in a booming economy: Analysing their Earnings and Welfare Dependence.

Immigration study, 1 November 2006, by the National Action Plan Against Racism (NPAR), which seeks to develop reasonable and common sense measures to accommodate cultural diversity in Ireland.

Economic and Social Research Institute Quarterly Economic Commentary, Autumn 2006 - Summary – 3/10/2006

Ireland on Sunday (IoS) article on the draft Services Directive, 1 October 2006

Services Innovation in Ireland - Options for Innovation Policy – Forfas Report 28/09/2006 – 'The services sector in Ireland, in common with other OECD economies, constitutes an increasing proportion of value-added reaching almost 60% in 2004. Innovation is a key driver in developing the services economy. This report presents a set of options which serve to stimulate debate on how best to support innovation in services. Companies and stakeholders are invited to provide feedback on these conclusions'.

Migration Policy, National Economic and Social Council, Report No. 115, September 2006.

Managing Migration in Ireland: A Social and Economic Analysis, a Report by the International Organisation for Migration for the National Economic and Social Council, Report No. 116, September 2006.

Consumer Protection in the Internal Market – Eurobarometer Survey [pdf file, 7.21mb], September 2006

Internal market: Opinion and experiences of Businesses in the 10 New Member States – Eurobarometer Survey [pdf file, 639kb], September 2006

Deutsche Bank article on the proposed Directive.

The American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, John Hopkins University issued a report on the proposed Directive – The EU Services Directive: Nightmare or Opportunity? Implications for Transatlantic Business (pdf file, 1027kb)

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has published a report, Freedom of Movement for Workers from Central and Eastern Europe: Experiences in Ireland and Sweden (pdf document, 395kb).

A study for Allied Irish Banks - Non-national workers in the Irish economy (pdf file, 166kb) - sets out the data on the role of non-national workers in Ireland.

Central Bank Quarterly Report, No. 1 of 2006 (pdf file, 346kb), calls, inter alia, for more competition in the services sector.

FAS Quarterly Labour Market Commentary 2006, First Quarter 2006 (pdf document, 426kb)

Offshore outsourcing: the implications for Ireland - Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) report Spring 2006 (pdf file, 290kb)

EU Commission Report on the Functioning of the Transitional Arrangements set out in the 2003 Accession Treaty (period 1 May 2004–30 April 2006), 8 February 2006

Deepening the Lisbon Agenda: Studies on Productivity, Services and Technologies by Fritz Breuss, Harald Badinger, study commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour of Austria, December 2005.

The French Minister for European Affairs, Madame Catherine Colonna, addressed the Institute of European Affairs, Dublin, on 12th September 2005 in a speech entitled "The Economic and Social Modernization of European Countries".

Price Waterhouse Coopers produced a study for the DTI on the Impact of the proposed EU Directive on Services in the Internal Market: case studies of UK businesses (September 2005) (pdf document, 949kb). The study was undertaken on the original proposal.

The Director General of the Confederation of British Industry, Mr. D. Jones, wrote an article in the Centre for European Reform (CER) Bulletin, Issue 42, June/July 2005 entitled Unshackling services is the key to Europe's economic future (word document, 25kb).

UK House of Lords EU Select Committee Report on the draft Services Directive, 21 July 2005 (pdf document, 3700kb). The report was based on the original proposal.

A study undertaken by Forfas found that the Services Directive would help the EU become the base for a wide range of internationally traded services to the rest of the world. This would be achieved by EU companies developing a scale and expertise through greater trade with the EU market, which would subsequently afford them greater opportunities in non-EU countries, such as the US. This is very much in line with the Lisbon agenda and reflects the significance attached to the Directive in the context of Lisbon.

A substantial benefit, to Ireland, would arise from the opening of European markets to Irish service providers. This was a key theme in the Enterprise Strategy Group Report (the O'Driscoll Report). Potential growth sectors identified in the O'Driscoll Report which would benefit from the implementation of the Services Directive include:

• private education;
• intellectual property;
• international sales and marketing;
• supply chain management;
• professional and consultancy services.

Report on the draft Services Directive by the Netherlands Social and Economic Council (SER) (this will take you to the SER website - http://www.ser.nl - click the back button to return). The report was based on the original proposal.

The OECD has published a report entitled Growth in Services: Fostering Employment, Productivity and Innovation (pdf document, 300kb). It encourages policy makers to, inter alia:

• • Open domestic services markets to create new job opportunities and foster innovation and productivity.
• • Take unilateral and multilateral steps to open international markets to trade and investment in services
• • Reform labour markets to enable employment creation and adjustment to a growing services economy.

The OECD's Economic Survey of the Euro Area 2005: Integrating Services Markets covers, inter alia, the draft Services Directive, the links between the draft Directive and the Posting of Workers Directive and the draft Gebhardt Report.

A study conducted by the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) concluded that bilateral trade and foreign direct investment in commercial services might increase by between 15% to 35% due to recent EU proposals to reduce the differences in national rules for business services, including the original draft Directive on Services in the Internal Market. The study also concluded that the real burden of regulation results from the differences in legislation between Member States, as service providers have to comply with different rules each time they enter a new market. The different sets of national regulations increase trade and investment costs which are often independent of firm size. A further study by CPB (September 2005) indicates that the degree of regulatory heterogeneity is inversely related to the level of bilateral service trade.

A study by Copenhagen Economics, on the Economic Assessment of the Barriers to the Internal Market for Services concludes that the original draft Directive would create up to 600,000 jobs, raise productivity and reduce prices for consumers. The study argues that many fears linked to the proposal are not well founded. Its overall finding is that the draft Directive would yield significant economic gains to all Member States. Competition in the EU would grow by €37 billion and value added would increase by €33 billion. The analysis includes approximately 2/3 of the economic activity covered by the Services Directive, and may, therefore, underestimate its economic effects.

Copenhagen Economics undertook a study for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the UK, on the economic importance of the country of origin principle in the original draft Services Directive. There is also a summary of the study (these links will take you to the DTI website - http://www.dti.gov.uk - click the back button to return)

Services Trade Liberalisation: Identifying Opportunities and Gains - OECD Trade Policy Working Paper No. 1, 6 February 2004

ESRI 2004 Annual School Leavers' Survey of 2002/2003 school leavers (pdf file, 500kb).

Growth Through Globalisation – The Danish Growth Strategy, January 2004

Economic Studies undertaken on the impact of the initial EU Commission proposal of January 2004

Growth challenges for the Dutch business services industry - International comparison and policy issues [pdf file, 1mb], April 2002

Mulitilateral Liberalisation of Services Trade – Productivity Commission of Australia Staff Research Paper, March 2000.