Conference

20 Years of the Services Directive: Reflections and future perspectives

Date: Thursday 19 November 2026 - Friday 20 November 2026
Location: Academy Building
Rapenburg 73
2311 GJ Leiden
Room: Telders Auditorium & PLNT Leiden

The Services Directive (2006/123/EC) is a cornerstone of the EU single market. Launched in 2004 under EU commissioner Frits Bolkenstein, the proposal reflected a strong liberalising approach centred around the ‘country of origin’ principle. The Directive, adopted two years later in a relatively watered down version and amid intense policy discussions and protests in several Member States, aims at eliminating barriers to the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services between Member States. It is without doubt a key instrument of EU internal market law, which has not only codified existing CJEU case law but also contributed to further procedural integration through points of single contact and administrative cooperation between Member States’ authorities.

As the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Services Directive approaches, it is timely to take a step back and reflect on the achievements and challenges associated with its application and implementation. With this objective in mind and in order to create a forum for reflection and discussion, the Europa Institute of Leiden University, will host a conference on 19-20 November 2026. The conference will feature a keynote speech and host various panel discussions.’

Programme

Thursday, 19 November 2026 (Leiden University; Academy building, Telders Auditorium)

12.45-13.15	Arrival and registration
13.15-13.30	Welcome speech
13.30-14.15	Keynote address; Ben Smulders, Judge, Court of Justice of the European Union
14.15-15.45	Panel 1: Application and interpretation of the Services Directive; Chair: Stefaan Van den Bogaert (Leiden University) Vassilis Hatzopoulos (Panteion University), Was the Services Directive a complete flop: At least for transborder service provision? Marleen Botman (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Regulating services in the EU: Who is in charge? A case study on the Services Directive Nikolin Mucaj (Halimi Ahmetaj Law and Tax), Dead letter: Articles 19 and 20 of the Services Directive and the private international law trap
15.45-16.15	Coffee Break
16.15-17.45	Panel 2: National perspectives: implementation and coordination; Chair: Darinka Piqani (Leiden University) Larissa Willamowski, Jordy Weyns, Susanne K. Schmidt (Universität Bremen), Integration through Law? A Competence-Control Perspective on the Strange Fate of the Services Directive Joren Vuylsteke (KU Leuven), Tendering domain authorisations under the Services Directive: A case study on the Netherlands, France and Belgium Monika Jozon (Sapientia Hungarian University Of Transylvania), The reach of the Services Directive: Lessons from Central and Eastern Europe - The case of Hungary and Romania
19.00	Dinner for speakers

Friday, 20 November 2026 (PLNT Leiden)

9.00-9.30	Welcome and coffee
9.30-10.00	Keynote address; Speaker: tbc (European Commission)
10.00-11.00	Practitioners’ roundtable; Chair: tbc Karst Vriesendorp (AKD) Tom Boekestein (Raad van State) Tbc (National Ministry)
11.00-11.15	Coffee break
11.15-13.15	Panel 3: Constitutional issues; Chair: Vincent Delhomme (Leiden University) Ronan Riordan (Maastricht University), De-politicising the Services Directive: The Role of the Court of Justice’s jurisprudence on mutual recognition Barend van Leeuwen (Durham University), The Services Directive and the Four Freedoms: The Directive’s Impact on the Substantive Structure of the EU Internal Market Christa Tobler (Leiden University), Preferential treatment of locals vis-à-vis cross-border service recipients - a breach of the principle of equal treatment? Lennard Michaux (KU Leuven), Specific Expression or Structural Divergence? The Services Directive as Fundamental Secondary Law
13.15-13.30	Closing remarks; Vincent Delhomme, Darinka Piqani, Stefaan Van den Bogaert (Leiden University)
13.30	Lunch for all participants