Once and for all: the master craftsman certificate remains

Despite claims to the contrary, the European Union (EU) commission does not want to abolish the German master craftsman certificate. The occupational access requirements remain under national jurisdiction.

And Germany is still able to specify the rules for service providers and to control who gains access to the German market. Richard Kühnel, representative of the EU Commission in Germany, has clarified this: "At European level, Germany - like all other member states - has continually called for the creation of an effective service sector in Europe. The services package presented by the EU commission serves this very purpose. The commission is not touching the master craftsman certificate. Instead, we want to provide German companies as well as other European companies and freelancers with the opportunity to offer services to a potential customer base of 500 million people across Europe. This is important for small and medium-sized companies in particular for whom the administrative barriers are costly and difficult to overcome."

Services constitute two-thirds of the EU's economic output and generate around 90 per cent of new jobs. In Germany, services constitute 60 per cent of GDP and 70 per cent of overall employment. Nevertheless, the service sector is not meeting its potential. The sectors productivity growth is low and other countries around the world are catching up. There are still obstacles to forming and growing companies, which means higher prices and less choice for consumers.

The debate surrounding Commission proposals for a European service economy is not always conducted based on facts. The representative of the EU commission in Germany has therefore prepared key facts relating to the German debate in a catalogue of questions and answers.