Regional Intergovernmental Regulations on Trade in Services EU Law on Trade in Services The EU is a common market not only for goods but also for services and (as discussed later in the chapter) labor. In comparison with GATS, the Treaty Establishing the European Community (EC Treaty), and the Lisbon Treaty of 2010 are the principal source of law in the EU, and create a much more open and liberal market for services (and business in general) between and among its member states. The EC Treaty provides that, within the EU, “restrictions on the freedom to provide services”56 and “restrictions on the freedom of establishment”57 are to be progressively abolished. In essence, service suppliers and entrepreneurs have consistently acquired (as the EU integrates and EU law evolves) greater rights to do business in all EU member states. The EU freedom to provide services relates to economic activities carried out on a temporary or nonpermanent basis. It applies, for example, when a Danish firm of consultants advises businesses in Greece or an Italian construction company erects a building in Spain. The EU right of establishment authorizes a natural person or a company to settle permanently in a member state and carry on a business.58 It includes the right to set up and carry on a business both as an individual and as an employer.59 Concern has been expressed that some cases fall between the scope of both of these guarantees.60 An example would be a British camera crew filming scenes in France and Germany. Because the crew is neither establishing itself nor providing or receiving services, neither of the two guarantees fits exactly. However, in several cases, the European Court of Justice has read the two provisions together and hinted that it regards them as part of a general right of a self-employed person to pursue activities throughout the EU regardless of the location of his principal office or the kind of economic endeavor in which he is involved.61 To ensure that the right of establishment and the freedom to provide services are meaningful guarantees, the EC Treaty declares that the self-employed and the employees of service suppliers are entitled to travel freely within the member states of the EU and to carry on their activities free from discrimination.62 In order to “create a real internal services market by 2010” the EU enacted the so-called Services Directive in 2006 (Directive 2006/123/EC). This legislation aims to “facilitate freedom of establishment for providers in other Member States and the freedom of provision of services between Member States.” The directive (which was required to be implemented by all members by December 29, 2009) was intended to “increase the choice offered to recipients and improve the quality of services both for consumers and businesses using these services.” As often happens, all EU nations did not meet the deadline for enacting legislation implementing the directive. In June 2010, the EU Commission sen ...

1. Regional Intergovernmental Regulations on Trade in Services
EU Law on Trade in Services
The EU is a common market not only for goods but also for
services and (as discussed later in the chapter) labor. In
comparison with GATS, the Treaty Establishing the European
Community (EC Treaty), and the Lisbon Treaty of 2010 are the
principal source of law in the EU, and create a much more open
and liberal market for services (and business in general)
between and among its member states. The EC Treaty provides
that, within the EU, “restrictions on the freedom to provide
services”56 and “restrictions on the freedom of
establishment”57 are to be progressively abolished. In essence,
service suppliers and entrepreneurs have consistently acquired
(as the EU integrates and EU law evolves) greater rights to do
business in all EU member states.
The EU freedom to provide services relates to economic
activities carried out on a temporary or nonpermanent basis. It
applies, for example, when a Danish firm of consultants advises
businesses in Greece or an Italian construction company erects a
building in Spain.
The EU right of establishment authorizes a natural person or a
company to settle permanently in a member state and carry on a
business.58 It includes the right to set up and carry on a
business both as an individual and as an employer.59
Concern has been expressed that some cases fall between the
scope of both of these guarantees.60 An example would be a
British camera crew filming scenes in France and Germany.
Because the crew is neither establishing itself nor providing or
receiving services, neither of the two guarantees fits exactly.
However, in several cases, the European Court of Justice has
read the two provisions together and hinted that it regards them
as part of a general right of a self-employed person to pursue
activities throughout the EU regardless of the location of his
principal office or the kind of economic endeavor in which he is

2. involved.61
To ensure that the right of establishment and the freedom to
provide services are meaningful guarantees, the EC Treaty
declares that the self-employed and the employees of service
suppliers are entitled to travel freely within the member states
of the EU and to carry on their activities free from
discrimination.62 In order to “create a real internal services
market by 2010” the EU enacted the so-called Services
Directive in 2006 (Directive 2006/123/EC). This legislation
aims to “facilitate freedom of establishment for providers in
other Member States and the freedom of provision of services
between Member States.” The directive (which was required to
be implemented by all members by December 29, 2009) was
intended to “increase the choice offered to recipients and
improve the quality of services both for consumers and
businesses using these services.”
As often happens, all EU nations did not meet the deadline for
enacting legislation implementing the directive. In June 2010,
the EU Commission sent a message to all the EU nations that
had not at that time passed appropriate legislation, warning
them of further action if the law was not enacted soon.63 Since
that time several nations have enacted such legislation.
However, in late October 2011, the EU Commission initiated
legal proceedings in the EU Court of Justice against Germany,
Austria, and Greece and asked the Court to impose significant
monetary penalties on these Member States, on the ground that
they have so far only partially “transposed” (implemented) the
Services Directive (2006/123/EC). This is the first time that the
EU has used the new powers created by the Lisbon Treaty to
request the Court, as soon as a case is referred, to impose daily
penalty payments on Member States that have not fully
transposed the Directive within the appropriate time. The
penalty payments requested of the Court are €44,876.16 for
Austria, €141,362.55 for Germany, and €51,200.10 for Greece.
These penalties have been set taking into account the different
situations in the Member States and accordingly the seriousness

3. of the infringements.64
The EU Commission stated that services constitute 70% of the
European economy. But unjustified or disproportionate
administrative requirements are still putting a major brake on
the development of service activities. The 2006 Services
Directive, which covers a large variety of economic activities—
such as retail, construction services, tourism services, and the
services of many regulated professions—applies to most, but
not all, services provided for economic return,65 and requires
EU members to examine and simplify the procedures required to
access and exercise a service activity and to provide a single
point of contact where a provider can complete all necessary
formalities, perhaps using online methods. The directive also
requires members to remove legal and administrative barriers to
the development of service activities to ensure
nondiscrimination.
Each nation still maintains a large body of its own labor and
employments laws and regulations, which are legal and
enforceable as long as they do not discriminate against foreign
workers. An example of certain French laws applying to
employment is given below
Respond to all 4 discussions with 250 words in each discussion.
Week 1 Discussion
"An Overview of Information Systems and a Computer System "
· Read the article titled “Top 10 Reasons Why Systems Projects
Fail”. You may also view the article
at http://dulcian.com/articles/dorsey_top10reasonssystemsprojec
tsfail.pdf. Next, compare and contrast the key differences
between information systems and information technologies.
Discuss one to two (1-2) ways in which a company uses
management information systems in order to increase
organizational efficiency and productivity.
· Explain the overall manner in which the four (4) building
blocks (i.e., input devices, CPU, main memory, and output

4. devices) of a computer system work together to perform the
three (3) basic tasks of computer operation (i.e., arithmetic
operations, logical operations, and storage and retrieval
operations). Include one (1) example of such collaboration to
support your response.
Week 2 Discussion
"Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizations Issues of
Information Systems "
· Describe at least two (2) methods that business owners could
use in order to protect the privacy of both personal information
and organizational data resources related to the Web and
information technologies. Provide one (1) example of the use of
each method to support your response.
· Use the Internet or the Strayer Library to research articles on
Online Analytic Processing (OLAP) and Online Analytic
Processing (OLTP). Next, compare and contrast the key
similarities and differences between Online Analytical
Processing (OLAP) and Online Transaction Processing (OLTP).
Speculate on the primary manner in which a grocery chain could
use OLAP to gain a competitive advantage. Provide a rationale
to support your response.
Week 3 Discussion
Click the link above to respond to the discussion. If you need
help with completing discussions please click here for more
information.
"Computer and Network Security"
· Identify two to three (2-3) information technology tools that
affect privacy. Next, discuss the main way in which one would
use the tools that you have identified to commit computer
crimes. Provide a rationale to support your response.
· Assume that you have been asked to develop a security policy
for your local bank. Suggest your top three (3)
recommendations to the bank in order to improve the security

5. and privacy of online banking. Provide a rationale to support
your response.
Week 4 Discussion
"Data Communication and Web 2.0"
· Describe the key components of a data communication system.
Next, discuss the overall manner in which a company uses data
communication in order to reduce its operations cost. Include
one (1) example of such a reduction in operation costs to
support your response.
· Use the Internet or the Strayer Library to research articles on
Web 2.0 technologies and their applications for business. Next,
identify two to three (2-3) ways in which a business could apply
Web 2.0 technologies in order to improve its business
operations. Provide one (1) example of such application to
support your response.