The European Parliament has held a hearing on the Directive on services in the internal market. The proposal to overcome barriers to businesses who want to provide services across EU borders or to establish themselves in another EU member state continues to be a hot topic. With objective of increase competitiveness in the service sector and further development of an internal market for services, the proposal is of great interest to RICS.

At the hearing, a number of aspects of the Directive were discussed, particularly the country of origin principle and the potential for overlap with other legislation. There was no overall support for or opposition to the Directive. However, the Parliament's rapporteur on this issue, Evelyne Gebhardt, was surprised at the number of experts giving evidence who spoke against the country of origin principle. RICS supports this principle, which would make it easier for service providers legally established in their home country to provide services in the other 24 countries.