Services are to be Included in Free EU Rights by 2010

The Member States of the European Union have agreed to allow most service providers, from accountants to undertakers, to do business in all 25 EU countries.

There has for a long time been a right of individuals to live and work and set up business in other EU countries, but the right to provide services has always been restricted. In other words, an EU national is free to move to another EU country and become employed in the service industry, e.g. as a plumber or a lawyer, but a company providing services in one Member State could not offer its services in another.

The agreement means that a company, say in Poland, can offer services in the UK without being based in the UK. Equally, a person looking for services can employ a company from any other Member State.

The agreement was supported by the UK and most of the new eastern Member States, but heavily opposed by France. The French were worried that their own service industry would be threatened by the new competition, particularly from Eastern Europe. However British leaders have estimated that the agreement will add an extra £5 billion to the UK economy each year.

The agreement needs first to be approved by the European Parliament, and will come into effect at he end of 2009.

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