The European Service Directive and consequences for German environmental legislation

Economic integration has turned the European Union into one of the world's leading economic areas. The enormous potential of the service sector has to date not been fully utilised however, not least because of the divergent legislation in the various EU member states. The European Service Directive (Directive 2006/123/EC) – a key pillar of the "Lisbon Strategy" – seeks to change that.

The European Commission views implementation of the Service Directive as an opportunity to liberalise the service market and make major efficiency improvements. Primarily with respect to expert assessor and reporting activities under the terms of the multifarious provisions and regulations of German environmental law, non-discriminatory market access now needs to be safeguarded for service providers from other EU and EEA member states without putting at risk the high German environmental protection standards. adelphi was responsible for consulting the German Federal Environment Ministry in this context, and helped to implement the Directive in German environmental law.