Simplification and mutual recognition in the construction sector under the Services Directive : final report

The Services Directive (2006/123/EC) aims to remove obstacles to cross-border provision of services in the internal market, either on a temporary basis or on the basis of secondary establishment. The Directive also benefits service providers who are active in a domestic market only. In this context, the main thrust of the Directive is to ensure that authorisation schemes and controls that apply to service providers are aligned to the Directive's rules that support administrative and regulatory simplification and mutual recognition. The main objective of this study was to determine whether Member States make full use of the principles of administrative and regulatory simplification, including by way of mutual recognition, as part of their relevant authorisation schemes for construction service providers. With this objective in mind, the study compared the relative administrative and regulatory burden associated with the Member State authorisation schemes examined. In addition, good practices were identified that illustrate how better alignment with Services Directive can be obtained across all Member States. The overall study findings informed the development of recommendations to encourage legislative reforms.