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21 February 2017 The Bolkestein Directive takes its name from the former Commissioner for Competition and the Internal Market, the Dutch Frits Bolkestein, in Brussels when Romano Prodi was at the head of the European Commission. It is an act approved by the European Commission in 2006 and concerns the free market for services. It was adopted by the Italian government in 2010 (Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi). By May 2017 (but an article of the Milleproproghe decree set the new deadline at May 31, 2018), Member States must ban the concessions issued over the years by local authorities, giving the possibility to open a commercial activity on a public area to all European citizens, with no nationality limit, in any EU country.
In the opinion of the European Commission, in the services sector it is far from exploiting the full potential of economic growth. The Bolkestein directive aims to facilitate the circulation of services within the Union, because services represent 70% of employment in Europe and their liberalization, according to many economists, would increase employment and GDP. of European Union.
How does it work
It simplifies the administrative and bureaucratic procedures for temporarily exercising an activity within an EU country and aims to avoid discrimination based on nationality. That is: a German street vendor who wants to move temporarily to Italy must have the same rights as an Italian street vendor who provides his services at his home. And viceversa. To achieve these objectives, it proposes the creation of one-stop shops where service providers can complete all the necessary formalities, complete the procedures also via the internet, avoiding 'useless' bureaucratic requirements, discriminatory authorizations and discrimination based on nationality. By virtue of article 12 of the directive, Italian street vendors will participate in calls for the renewal of licenses together,at least theoretically, to 'colleagues' from all over Europe.