Solvit - Settling a cross-border dispute with an EU administration amicably

SOLVIT Luxembourg is part of an informal cooperation network which was set up in each EU Member State in 2002 and in the three countries of the European Economic Area (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) with a view to facilitating the resolution of issues regarding the application of EU law by public authorities.

SOLVIT Luxembourg helps businesses and private individuals solve their cross-border problems involving an administration from another EU Member State.

SOLVIT Luxembourg is dedicated to finding amicable solutions, without legal action, to problems presented to it.

Who is concerned

All Luxembourg businesses active on the Internal Market and all Luxembourg citizens who have a issue with an administration in another EU Member State can call on the services of SOLVIT Luxembourg.

Prerequisites

The SOLVIT network can only take action if the dispute:

  • is of a cross-border nature;
  • is the result of a misapplication of the Internal Market law by a public administration in an EU Member State;
  • has not yet been taken to a court or tribunal, and thus can still be settled amicably.
NB: the intervention of SOLVIT does not suspend the legal deadlines for legal action if no amicable solution is found.

How to proceed

Submitting a complaint to SOLVIT Luxembourg

A Luxembourg business or citizen can submit a complaint:

The complaint must be accompanied by:

  • a summary of the events that are considered in breach of EU Internal Market rules;
  • supporting documents like letters and disputed administrative decisions.

SOLVIT Luxembourg checks if the complaint is admissible and sends it to the SOLVIT Centre in the country where the problem happened (the 'Lead' SOLVIT Centre) via an online database together with a legal analysis.

Finding a solution

Generally within one week, the lead centre confirms whether it agrees with the analysis made by SOLVIT Luxembourg and whether it accepts the case or not. If the case is approved, the lead centre will undertake to solve the problem within a period of 10 weeks.

However, if the lead centre is unable to find a solution to the problem or if the proposed solution is unacceptable to the plaintiff, the latter can pursue legal action by lodging a formal appeal under the national rules of the Member State that issued the decision under dispute.

Example

A Luxembourg construction company with a Luxembourg business permit signs a contract with a construction manager for a house in Arlon, Belgium. The estimated duration of works is 8 months.

After having completed all required formalities with regard to the posting of workers and VAT, the company starts working on the site.

During an inspection, an agent from the Inspectorate of labour law from Arlon orders the construction site to be closed immediately for lack of a Belgian business permit and imposes a fine on the company for illegal work.

The Luxembourg company files a complaint with SOLVIT Luxembourg.

SOLVIT Luxembourg considers the complaint to be admissible and sends its legal analysis to the Belgian SOLVIT Centre: under Article 16 of the "Services" Directive 2006/123/EC, the providers of services who are legally established in a Member State have the right to provide services temporarily in another Member State without being established there.

After confirming this analysis, the Belgian SOLVIT Centre contacts the Belgian authorities in order to solve the issue.

Forms / Online services

Solvit - formulaire de plainte en ligne

Les informations qui vous concernent recueillies sur ce formulaire font l’objet d’un traitement par l’administration concernée afin de mener à bien votre demande.

Ces informations sont conservées pour la durée nécessaire par l’administration à la réalisation de la finalité du traitement

Les destinataires de vos données sont les administrations compétentes dans le cadre du traitement de votre demande. Veuillez-vous adresser à l’administration concernée par votre demande pour connaître les destinataires des données figurant sur ce formulaire. Conformément au règlement (UE) 2016/679 relatif à la protection des personnes physiques à l'égard du traitement des données à caractère personnel et à la libre circulation de ces données, vous bénéficiez d’un droit d’accès, de rectification et le cas échéant d’effacement des informations vous concernant. Vous disposez également du droit de retirer votre consentement à tout moment.

En outre et excepté le cas où le traitement de vos données présente un caractère obligatoire, vous pouvez, pour des motifs légitimes, vous y opposer.

Si vous souhaitez exercer ces droits et/ou obtenir communication de vos informations, veuillez-vous adresser à l’administration concernée suivant les coordonnées indiquées dans le formulaire. Vous avez également la possibilité d’introduire une réclamation auprès de la Commission nationale pour la protection des données ayant son siège à 15, boulevard du Jazz L-4370 Belvaux.

En poursuivant votre démarche, vous acceptez que vos données personnelles soient traitées dans le cadre de votre demande.

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