freedom to provide services

What constitutes a service?

The decisive factor is the temporary and occasional nature of the activity. The provider remains lawfully established in the home state and works only temporarily in the host state, assessed by reference to duration, frequency, regularity, and continuity. Once the activity becomes permanent, the right of establishment applies with its stricter requirements. The boundary is fluid and, where disputed, a matter of interpretation for the courts.

What rules apply to regulated professions?

Title II of Directive 2005/36/EC establishes a separate, lighter procedure. Under Article 7(1), a written declaration in advance is sufficient, which is to be renewed annually if services are to continue. Attachments required include proof of nationality, a certificate of lawful establishment, and proof of qualification. Where the profession is not regulated in the home state, Article 5(1)(b) requires at least one year of professional practice in the preceding ten years.

What does this mean for graduates from EU countries?

For doctors with a degree from Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, or the Baltic states, the route via freedom to provide services is of most interest for locum arrangements, weekend duties, or advisory work, as the notification is faster than a full recognition procedure. Those wishing to work in Germany for longer need the licence to practise. Austria also requires notification to the Austrian Medical Chamber for temporary activity; Switzerland has a notification procedure under the Free Movement Agreement with a ceiling of 90 working days per calendar year.

Limits of the notification solution

For professions with implications for public health or safety, the host state may verify qualifications before the first service is provided under Article 7(4). Language requirements, professional indemnity insurance, and the professional law of the host state apply nonetheless, and the notification must be renewed before each new annual period. Notification does not replace chamber membership or authorisation to bill statutory health insurance funds. Failure to notify risks a fine and, in the event of a repeat, exclusion from the notification procedure. Whether an activity is still temporary is assessed by the competent authority on a case-by-case basis.