The Service Directive of the European Parliament and the Council is an important instrument for achieving a closer economic co-operation for EU member states.
The cross-border trade of services assures the realisation of the Lisbon Strategy and the implementation of an integrated European Single Market. The Service Directive, which was adopted by the EU in December 2006, assures the free admission and exercise of services by service providers who are established in another member state.
This, as well as the directive for the recognition of professional qualifications, necessitated changes in the German environmental law: in line with free markets, environmental auditors and environmental experts from abroad can now also work in Germany. An important concern regarding the realisation of the Directive into German law is the continued guarantee of a high level of performance.
Putting the Service Directive into practice resulted in changing nine different environmental laws and twelve environmental regulations. In this context adelphi served as consultants for the Federal Environmental Ministry and provided legal expertise to a variety of questions and concerns.