State of play, main conclusions, outlook

Evaluation of Council Directive 86/653/EEC on the coordination of the laws of the Member States relating to self-employed commercial agents

An in-depth evaluation of the directive was undertaken to see whether it was still fit for purpose. The evaluation concluded that the Directive meets its objectives of facilitating cross-border activities and functions well. The Directive's benefits outweigh its costs, does not create administrative burden, it remains relevant and continues to have EU added value. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the Directive is maintained in its current form. Legislative follow-up is not foreseen.

Estimated savings and benefits

The Directive affects growing market across a wide range of industrial sectors. It is estimated that in 2012 there were some 590 000 commercial agents in the EU, practically all SMEs, generating a combined turnover of € 260 billion (ca. 3 % of total commercial turnover) and providing employment to over 1 million people.

Benefits: Although it is difficult to assess the impact of a Directive that was adopted almost 30 years ago in quantitative terms, there are strong qualitative indications that the Directive has had a significant impact on facilitating cross-border activities and creating a single market for commercial representation, and thus meeting its aims.

A significant increase in the number of commercial representation relationships made across borders over the last 20-30 years is a good indicator for the Directive’s actual market impact.

Long-term data is available for Germany and Austria. The proportion of German agents representing principals from other EU Member States went from 26.5 % in 1984 to 68 % in 2014. A study from Austria shows that the share of Austrian commercial agents operating in at least one other country increased from 12 % in 2000 to 39 % in 2014, while the share of foreign principals using Austrian commercial agents increased from 30 % to 64 % in the same period.

Costs: Qualitative stakeholder feedback shows that the Directive does not cause administrative burden. Nevertheless, it could entail additional operational costs for principals as it ensures a minimum standard for the protection of commercial agents — at least in those Member States where a similar degree of protection was previously not granted to agents. This applies to the UK, Ireland and Sweden. The main element of this protection is that principals must pay indemnity or compensation after termination of the contract.