The European Social Model of commerce .
As noted Tony has given up his insistance on the service Directive that was causing a storm in France (and a chance of the referendum vote going the wrong way.) This article from The Times describes what the Social Model really means, and why Europe won't flourish.
TO OPEN a chocolate shop in a French town a local committee must decide whether to grant your application.
That committee will include two people from the local chamber of commerce, representing the interests of any existing chocolate shops in the area. Such protectionist practices, widespread around Europe, would be banned by the new services directive, which is designed to sweep away regulations hindering EU citizens offering their services in other member states.
Another practice that the directive would ban is licensing on economic grounds. For example, in Germany the number of bakers is restricted to one in 10,000 people. This has led to Polish bakers baking bread in Poland and selling it in Berlin each day because they cannot bake it in the city.
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