The free movement of services (and the liberalisation of maritime service sector) in the European Union (EU): The limits of institutional steps from above

This paper gives an account of the historical development of the free movement of services (including the maritime service sector) in the EU and it also focuses on the limits of institutional steps taken by Brussels in further advancing liberalisation of the Single Market. By moving on ftorn the consensus that is achieved in the multilateral trade negotiations of General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) and The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the EU mernber states have taken further measures to deepen the economic integration with a view to create a single market by means of ftee movement of goods, services, capital and labour. However, the free moveurent of services (and to a certain extent the free rnovement of labour, due to the cultural differences, the problems in mutual recognition of diplomas and the language problerns) have remained limited; although the European institutions have taken various measures and developed the relevant parts of the Acquis Communautaire in tirne. ln this context, this paper wiJl elucidate why the services sector is lagging behind within the Single Market, and it will also offer several steps to further deepen the economic jntegration in this field.