Services Liberalisation in the Internal Market

Liberalisation of cross-border service provision in recent years developed into one of the most controversial European integration issues. In the public debate – that for the first time provided a glimpse of a European public in nuce – in particular the first draft of the regulation was subject to severe criticism, being often called the "Frankenstein directive", the transposition of which inevitably would lead to a breakdown of the so called "European Social Model" – a term that was also coined during the debate. On the other hand, the defenders of the concept promised the creation of jobs without number, if the Directive were realised. The EU Services Directive of December 2006 marks at least a preliminary endpoint in the debate. But it differs considerably from the original draft, most importantly by giving up the embattled Country of Origin Principle. With the volume at hand, renowned scientists analyse the EU’s efforts so far to liberalise the services sector from a legal, economic, and business administration perspective.