European Business Law, the fourth volume in our series, shows how the European authorities simultaneously abolish all restrictions on access to and exercise of economic activities and support the growth of domestic markets, through the harmonization the internal legislation or the enactment of genuinely unified regulations.

European Business Law

Before the Services Directive, the European authorities had adopted sectoral directives intended to facilitate the effective exercise of the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services. These directives concern sectors or professions to which access is specially regulated, such as financial or audiovisual services or the profession of lawyer, which are expressly excluded from the scope of application of the Services Directive.

Since publication on 15 February 2001 of the “Final Report of the Committee of Wise Men on the Regulation of European Securities Markets” chaired by A. Lamfalussy , the European institutions have tended to adopt sectoral directives according to the “Lamfalussy process”. At the first stage of the process, the European Council and the Parliament, on a proposal from the Commission apply the codecision procedure and adopt the framework legislation (Level 1). The Commission then develops the detailed implementing measures for the legislation, after consulting committees made up of representatives of national supervisory bodies of the relevant sector and market operators, end-users and consumers, and puts those measures to the Council and the Parliament which adopt them in Level 2. The committees of the national regulatory authorities are responsible for the Level 3 measures which are intended to improve implementation of the Level 1 and 2 instruments in the Member States. Finally, the Commission checks that Member States transpose properly and in a timely manner the EU legislation into their national laws and, if necessary may take legal action against them for failure to fufill their obligations (Level 4). Initially limited to the financial sector , this process has been implemented for the adoption of new directives in the banking  and insurance  sectors. 

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/securities/docs/lamfalussy/wisemen/final-report-wise-men_en.pdf

Directive No 2004/39 of 21 April 2004 on markets in finacial instruments, OJEU L 145 of 30 April 2004, 1, repealed and replaced by Directive No 2014/65 of 15 May 2014, OJ L 173 of 12 June, 2014, 349.

Directive No 2006/48 of 14 June 2006 relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of credit institutions, OJ L 177 of 30 June 2006, 1, repealed and replaced by Directive No 2013/36 of 26 June 2013, OJ L 176 of 27 June 2013, 338.

Directive No 2009/138 of 25 November 2009 on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance (Solvency II), OJEU L 335 of 17 December 2009, 1.

114. Directives intended to promote freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services