EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 2.5.2017 SWD(2017) 210 final COMPLIANCE PACKAGE COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Assessment of the performance of SOLVIT Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Action plan on the Reinforcement of SOLVIT: Bringing the benefits of the Single Market to citizens and businesses {COM(2017) 255 final} EN EN Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 2. Background .................................................................................................................. 3 3. Methodology ................................................................................................................ 6 4. The developments of the SOLVIT network ................................................................. 8 4.1. Period 2001-2013 ......................................................................................................... 8 4.2. Period 2013 and onwards ........................................................................................... 10 5. Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 13 5.1. The extent to which the objectives have been achieved ............................................ 13 5.1.1. Intended objectives and effects of SOLVIT............................................................... 13 5.1.2. The quality of the service-Operational targets ........................................................... 13 5.1.3. The quality of the service-adequate staffing, legal expertise and authority ............... 18 5.1.4. The use of SOLVIT .................................................................................................... 21 5.1.5. The handling, follow-up and reporting of 'structural problems' linked to breach of EU law by the Member States and unresolved cases and the link to formal Commission complaint handling procedures .................................................................................. 25 5.1.6. Factors influencing the effectiveness SOLVIT .......................................................... 30 5.2. The extent to which SOLVIT is cost efficient ........................................................... 34 5.3. The extent to which SOLVIT is relevant ................................................................... 38 5.4. To what extent is SOLVIT coherent internally and with wider EU policy ............... 39 5.5. What is the EU added value of SOLVIT ................................................................... 41 6. Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 42 7. ANNEX: Existing framework and existing studies and evaluations ......................... 43 2 1. INTRODUCTION SOLVIT is a network set up by national governments in the EU in order to provide fast and effective help to individuals and businesses who have been deprived of their EU rights in the Single Market. The purpose of this document is to assess the performance of the SOLVIT network after the adoption of the 2013 Recommendation, using the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and EU added value to guide this analysis. This analysis does not aim at evaluating comprehensively the functioning of SOLVIT or its contribution and wider impacts to the functioning of the Single Market but critically assesses the functioning of the network vis-à-vis its objectives since the adoption of the 2013 Recommendation. 2. BACKGROUND SOLVIT was launched on the basis of a Commission Recommendation in July 2002.1 It is an informal problem solving network within Member States, coordinated by the Commission and has developed significantly since its creation. The principles governing SOLVIT have been updated - to take into account developments of the first 10 years of SOLVIT - by the Commission Recommendation of 20132 (replacing the initial 2001 Recommendation). According to its mandate as described in the 2013 Recommendation, SOLVIT deals with cross-border problems caused by a potential breach of Union law governing the internal market by a public authority, where and to the extent such problems are not subject to legal proceedings at either national or Union level. It contributes to a better functioning Single Market by fostering and promoting better compliance with Union law. Its objectives will be further elaborated in section 4. The service is provided free of charge by civil servants of the national administration in each EU country and in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Although there is a SOLVIT centre in each country, the complaints are mostly submitted directly through an online complaint form3 linked to the Internal Market Information System (IMI system)4, which is provided by the Commission and respects all data protection rules. The sources of SOLVIT cases are internet searches, signposting by other partner networks (Your Europe Advice and to a lesser extent the Europe Direct Contact Centre, Ombudsmen, Chambers of commerce etc) or government authorities and word of mouth in particular among migrant or professional communities. The position of each SOLVIT centre within the national administration differs.5 SOLVIT aims to find solutions within 10 weeks – starting on the day the case is taken on by the SOLVIT centre in the country where the problem occurred. Submitting a case to SOLVIT doesn’t suspend any formal or administrative deadlines under national law. 1 Commission Recommendation of 7 December 2001 on principles for using "SOLVIT" – the Internal Market Problem Solving Network. 2 Commission Recommendation of 17 September 2013 on the principles governing SOLVIT (2013/461/EU), OJ L 249, 19.9.2013, p. 10–15. 3 http://ec.europa.eu/eu-rights/enquiry-complaint-form/home?languageCode=en&origin=solvit-web 4 See Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System and repealing Commission Decision 2008/49/EC (‘the IMI Regulation’) OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, p. 1–11. 5 For example, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Business Authority, the Ministry of Justice. For an overview please visit http://ec.europa.eu/solvit/contact/index_en.htm 3 Whilst SOLVIT is informal and pragmatic in nature, its set-up contributes to ensuring that solutions found are compliant with Union law. SOLVIT is based on a transparent problem- solving process involving two Member States. The SOLVIT cases are managed through a procedure which is described in the 2013 SOLVIT Recommendation. The two SOLVIT centres cooperate to solve cases through the SOLVIT database, which is integrated in the IMI system. The database enables SOLVIT centers to register cases under certain categories and provide a description of the circumstances relating to each case, appropriate follow-up alerts at appropriate stages of the case which need to be answered; search functions to identify specific cases; possibility to export cases in order to provide statistics etc. European Commission officials, national SOLVIT centres and other national bodies communicate via electronic correspondence (the SOLVIT application is part of the IMI application), inter alia for the case handling and the provision of informal legal advice. Complainants usually submit their cases through an online complaint form. Other sources of cases to SOLVIT are transfers from the networks of Your Europe Advice and Europe Direct Contact Centre as well as submission by letter, email etc. to the SOLVIT centre established in the country of the applicant. When submitted through the online complaint form or transferred by YEA and EDCC, the cases are stored as drafts directly in the SOLVIT database, which is a module of the IMI System. When submitted through traditional means, the centre that receives the case must record it in the database. There are always two SOLVIT centres cooperating through the SOLVIT database to resolve a case: the centre established in the country of the origin or residence of the applicant (Home centre) and the centre established in the country where the problem has occurred (Lead centre). When a complainant submits a problem to the network, the Home SOLVIT centre legally analyses the complaint. When it fits the SOLVIT criteria (cross-border issue, public authority involved, no legal proceedings at stake and alleged breach of EU law) the Home centre submits the case through the SOLVIT application to the Lead centre. The Lead centre contacts the relevant authority and comes back with a solution that it proposes - again through the database - to the Home centre. Whilst the Commission is not normally involved in resolving cases, it is in close contact with SOLVIT centres, offers regular legal training and, in some complex cases, provides informal legal advice. It also monitors SOLVIT case handling and outcomes via the on-line database. SOLVIT deals with all cross-border problems related to the four freedoms of movement (persons, goods, services and capital) including supporting policies that have a direct impact on the Single Market (such as taxation, employment, social policy and transport). Single Market legislation includes measures considered to have an impact on the functioning