The Services Directive: The Challenge of Implementation and Management at Sub-State Level

Target Groups
This Services Directive seminar is designed to meet the concrete needs of public and private players involved in completing the single market for services, as well as lawyers, academics, policy makers and experts who are keen to deepen their knowledge of this new instrument within a complex and multi-level European space. 

Description
During this intensive two-day programme, relevant academics and practitioners, as well as national and European decision makers, will meet and exchange their respective expertise. Based on proficient presentations and subsequent round tables, the participants and speakers will have a unique opportunity to learn how to avoid expected pitfalls in implementing the Services Directive.

Objectives
The seminar aims to provide genuine problem-solving guidance regarding the implementation and enforcement of the Services Directive in daily practice. As this seminar is mainly focused on regional and local concerns, it will bring together experiences and concrete challenges in completing the single market for services. The working sessions will address complex governance with a strong comparative and practitioner-oriented perspective.

In order to best focus the content of the programme, our team has consulted a large number of stakeholders and identified the most urgent needs. A number of provisions of this directive are perceived to be of particular complexity, including vast sectors and issues within the jurisdiction and competences of sub-state level. Situations will be handled taking account of the diverse regional arrangements existing in the EU Member States.

From a legal viewpoint, some aspects of the scope are still to be clarified. Such an issue will impact on administrative and business activities, as well as their present and future relations, as it will determine subsequent judicial reviews and case-law. Therefore, the seminar will shed further light on this issue, providing legal expertise and case study.

The Services Directive also launches critical steps towards deeper European integration through highly demanding cross-border administrative cooperation. Legal but also technical hindrances and cultural habits are at stake. The seminar will help to clarify these questions through expert presentations and comparative exchanges.

Additionally, we will meet recurrent requests for benchmarking opportunities regarding legal screening methodology and administrative simplification. The international dimension of the seminar will provide such an occasion.

Overall, an optimal transposition (the deadline of which expired on 28 December 2009) will ease procedures and consolidate the success of EU territorial cooperation projects, as well as the opening up of markets to SMEs. The upcoming legislative developments will show whether or not European regional and local governance is well prepared for this extensive simplification and the required coordination efforts. This seminar intends to help participants to successfully take up a combination of current challenges.

Working language
English. Interpretation into Spanish will be provided if there are at least 5 participants who require this service. Please indicate your language of preference on the registration form.

Fee

EIPA offers its members a reduction of 10% of the registration fee. This reduction is available to all civil servants working for one of EIPA’s member countries (i.e. AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, DE, GR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, MT, NL, PL, PT, ES, SE, UK) as well as civil servants working for an EU institution or agency. If you are eligible for a discount, please tick the box in the registration form. Please note that reductions cannot be accumulated. For more information, please visit EIPA’s website: http://seminars.eipa.eu/en/pages/display/&tid=102).

Information
Kindly complete the online registration form and return it before the closing date. Your name and address will be part of EIPA's database for our mailing purposes only. If you do not want to be included in our mailing database, please tick the box in the registration form.

Hotel reservations in Barcelona
The EIPA-ECR will be pleased to make reservations for you at these hotels (where special rates are applied for EIPA-ECR participants):

Hotel NH Podium****
(C/Bailén, 4-6; Tel.: +34.93 265 02 02; www.nh-hotels.com
€ 110 Double room for single use, € 120 Double room (breakfast inlcuded) + 7% VAT

Hotel Europark***
(Aragó, 325 - Tel.: +34.93 457 92 05, www.nnhotels.es)
€ 109 Double room for single use, € 135 Double room (Breakfast included) + 7% VAT

To get the best Web fare available, upon confirmation of your registration a code will be sent to you so that you can make the reservation directly on the hotel website. The above-mentioned fare is the maximum amount that can be charged for the room.

Should you wish to make use of this possibility, please indicate the dates of arrival and departure on the registration form. Payment is to be made directly and personally to the hotel on checking out. Please note that if you register after the closing date, hotel reservations cannot be guaranteed.

Confirmation
Confirmation of registration will be sent to participants on receipt of the completed registration form.