Services and the EU citizen

Abstract

The importance of services in the EU economy has increased exponentially in the last decades as have the number and scope of EU rules, both those liberalizing the provision of services and those protecting their recipients or consumers. However, these consumers, in their capacity as citizens, are increasingly disillusioned with the EU and its institutions. This book - written by practitioners, academics, and advocates before the European Court - reflects on these developments, examining rules in numerous service sectors, from the capping of roaming call charges upheld in the Vodafone decision, through health care, to the requirement for air carriers to care for and compensate passengers approved in the generous Sturgeon judgment. The Court's positive approach may have been guided by a desire to consolidate the notion of EU citizenship, a status introduced at Maastricht, but without clear content. The book therefore considers whether these uniform, EU-wide, consumer rights may not form an important component of such European citizenship. The Commission's proposal to make 2013 as the European Year of Citizens seems to favor such a view. The book will be essential reading for all those working in the field or are interested in the latest developments with regard to services and how they affect citizens of the EU.