[MGSA-L] Freedom to provide services: Commission requests Greece to comply with EU rules in private education sector

June Samaras june.samaras at gmail.com
Thu Jan 27 21:26:15 PST 2011


Freedom to provide services: Commission requests Greece to comply with
EU rules in private education sector

Mariah Jen 27 January 2011


http://www.iewy.com/15248-freedom-to-provide-services-commission-requests-greece-to-comply-with-eu-rules-in-private-education-sector.html
The European Commission today requested Greece to ensure that its
rules on the establishment and operation of private post-secondary
education centres comply with EU rules on the freedom of establishment
and the freedom to provide and receive services. The Commission
considers that Greece’s current rules may lead to distortions in the
Internal Market for private education services. The Commission’s
request to Greece takes the form of a reasoned opinion. If Greece does
not reply satisfactorily within two months, the Commission may refer
the matter to the EU Court of Justice.

What is the aim of the EU rules in question?
Rules in the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU on the freedom of
establishment (Article 49) and the freedom to provide and receive
services (Article 56) require Greece, like all other Member States,
not to have any provision in its laws which could stop or hinder a
service provider legally established in another Member State who
intends to operate in its territory. These rules are at the heart of
the EU’s Single Market and ensure that customers can enjoy access to a
wide range of competitive goods and services and that businesses can
enjoy access to the pan-European market. These rules also apply to
providers of private education services that intend to provide their
services in the Greek market.

How is Greece not respecting these rules?
Greek laws1 require private post-secondary education centres to
undergo an authorisation procedure in order to set up and operate in
the country. Certain obligations within this authorisation procedure
are incompatible with EU law, such as the obligation for each
applicant to provide a letter of guarantee for a fixed amount (€500
000) irrespective of the number of students the institution expects
will be enrolled or of the number of staff it intends to employ. The
fixed amount would be used for the repayment of tuition fees and the
payment of staff remuneration in the event that the post-secondary
education centre lost its right to operate.

Furthermore, the Commission finds that a number of provisions restrict
post-secondary education centres in Greece and their partner
educational institutions established in other Member States in their
right to offer education services in the framework of educational
franchising (i.e. where programmes of foreign educational institutions
ending with the award of a foreign diploma are run in Greece by the
Greek post-secondary education centres on the basis of a franchising
agreement). Among such provisions are those setting out minimum
academic requirements for teachers running franchised courses, and
others requiring that such teachers are registered in the Greek
Register of Post-Secondary Education Centres Teaching Staff. By
imposing these obligations Greece intervenes in the sphere reserved
for the regulation of the Member State in which the institution
awarding the diploma is located.

How are EU citizens and/or businesses suffering as a result?
These rules hinder both private education services providers already
established in Greece, and those of other EU Member States looking to
establish themselves in Greece. The rules also hinder educational
institutions established in other Member States who intend to offer
their services in Greece in the framework of educational franchising
with Greek post-secondary education centres. This in turn has a
negative impact on competition in the Greek market in the area of
education services and limits the choices available to Greek students.

More information
Freedom to provide services:

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/services/principles_en.htm

Latest information on infringement proceedings concerning all Member States:

http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/index_en.htm

For more information on infringement procedures, see MEMO/11/45.

1 : Law no. 3696/2008 on establishment and operation of post-secondary
education centres and other provisions (as amended) and Decision no.
63893/IA specifying provisions set out in this Law


-- 
June Samaras
2020 Old Station Rd
Streetsville,Ontario
Canada L5M 2V1
Tel : 905-542-1877
E-mail : june.samaras at gmail.com



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