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Brussels, 22nd October 2001

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)UDQFHPHGLFDOODERUDWRULHV French national law (Decree No. 76-1004) prevents medical laboratories established in another Member State from opening a branch or agency in France or from providing cross-border services unless they have a licensed operating establishment in France. Additionally, the French Social Security Code only allows patients to reclaim the costs of medical analyses by laboratories outside France if the same analyses are unavailable in France. The Commission considers that these rules constitute a barrier to the Treaty’s rules on the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services (Articles 43 and 49 respectively).

*HUPDQ\SDWHQWDJHQWV German law requires patent agents established in other Member States to name as a representative another agent or a lawyer established in Germany, in order to be able to represent foreign nationals. The Commission considers this requirement to be a disproportionate measure and contrary to Treaty rules on the freedom to provide services (Article 49).

,WDO\HQJLQHHUV Italian public works legislation prohibits engineers, either working alone or in association, from taking part in calls for tenders for projects valued below ¼ except for particularly complex work which requires specific training. The Commission considers that the Italian measures run contrary to Treaty rules on the freedom to provide services (Article 49), as they seriously impede engineers legally established in other Membe States from participating in the tenders. 3RUWXJDOSULYDWHVHFXULW\VHUYLFHV Portuguese law (Decree 231/98) stipulates that only companies with a certain amount of capital and offices in Portugal are allowed to provide security services, irrespective of whether these companies conform to the establishment criteria laid down in another Member State. The law also obliges employees to hold a card delivered by the Portuguese authorities confirming that they acquired their professional qualifications in Portugal. The Commission considers these measures are in infringement with both the Treaty on the freedom to provide services and Directive 92/51/EEC on the recognition of professional qualifications.

)UDQFHPLQLQJFRGH The French mining code, as modified by a law of 15 July 1994, excludes private operators from requesting a permit to mine coal and instead reserves this activity exclusively for the public body "Charbonnages de France". Following an initial contact with the European Commission the French authorities announced their intention to modify the code to allow all EU companies to apply for mining permission but have so far failed to do so. The Commission considers that the French rules constitute a restriction on the freedom of establishment in violation of the EC Treaty (Article 43).

1HWKHUODQGVSULYDWHVHFXULW\FRPSDQLHV Private security companies wishing to do business in the Netherlands have to receive prior authorisation from the Dutch authorities even if they only wish to work on a temporary basis. They also have to supply all their employees with a special permit in the form of a card ("legitimatiebewijs") obtained from the Dutch authorities. In addition, the Netherlands does not recognise equivalent professional qualifications obtained in other Member States and insists that security services personnel working on their territory hold Dutch qualifications only. The Commission considers that these requirements constitute an unjustified restriction on the freedom to provide services in violation of EC Treaty rules (Article 49).

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