6 Recognition of professional qualifications
| (a)
(23345)
7239/02
COM(02) 119
(b)
(25569)
8722/04
COM(04) 317
(c)
(25602)
8726/04
—
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Draft Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications
Draft Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications
Draft Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications
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| Legal base | Articles 40, 47(1) and (2) and 55 EC; co-decision; QMV (but see para 6.3 below)
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| Document originated | (b) 20 April 2004
(c) 26 April 2004
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| Deposited in Parliament | (b) 27 April 2004
(c) 4 May 2004
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| Department | Education and Skills
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| Basis of consideration | (b) and (c) EM and Minister's letter of 4 May 2004
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| Previous Committee Report | (a) HC 152-xxxv (2001-02), para 10 (3 July 2002)
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| To be discussed in Council | 17 May 2004
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | (All) Cleared
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Background
6.1 At present, there are 15 separate Directives on the mutual
recognition of professional qualifications by Member States.
The purpose of this proposal is to bring the provisions together
in one Directive and to modernise, simplify and improve the rules.
The proposal contributes to the wider objective of improving
labour mobility within the European Community and making the market
for labour and services more flexible.
6.2 When we considered document (a) in 2002, we concluded
that the proposal was likely to be extremely helpful. We decided
to keep the document under scrutiny pending the outcome of further
negotiations on the text.
6.3 The effect of the first and third sentences of
Article 47(2) of the EC Treaty is that Council Directives such
as this one should be decided by qualified majority voting; but
the second sentence of that paragraph provides that, where implementation
of a directive in any Member State will require the State to change
its existing law about the taking up and pursuit of activities
as self-employed persons, the Council is required to act by unanimity
in adopting the Directive. At this stage, it is not known if
the implementation of this Directive would require changes to
the existing law of other Member States, and the Government has
yet to identify changes that might be needed to UK legislation.
The documents
6.4 The draft of the proposal we considered in 2002
has been superseded by the most recent draft (document (c)).
6.5 In February, the European Parliament gave a first
reading to document (a). It adopted 125 amendments. Document
(b) gives the Commission's opinion on the amendments and its reasons
for accepting 55 of them and rejecting the others. Document (b)
has been over-taken by document (c).
6.6 Document (c) contains the Irish Presidency's
revision of the draft Directive. In preparing the revision, the
European Parliament's amendments to the previous draft were not
taken into account. The Presidency is expected to seek a political
agreement to document (c) at the Competitiveness Council on 17
May. The main provisions of the revised text are as follows.
6.7 The Directive is to apply to all nationals of
a Member State who wish to practice a regulated profession[5]
in a Member State other than the one in which they obtained their
professional qualifications (Article 2(1)).
6.8 The recognition of professional qualifications
by the host Member State (that is, the country in which the practitioner
wants to work) is to allow the practitioner to gain access to
the same profession as the one for which he is qualified in the
Member State from which he or she comes (Article 4(1)).
6.9 Member States must not restrict, for any reason
related to professional qualifications, the free provision of
services in another Member State if the service provider is legally
established in a Member State for the purpose of practising the
same profession (Article 5(1)). The host Member State must exempt
service providers established in another Member State from the
requirements it places on professionals established in its territory
for authorisation by, registration with or membership of a professional
body (Article 6(1)).
6.10 Under Article 7, where a service provider moves
in order to provide services, he or she must make a written declaration
to the competent authority of the host Member State; the declaration
must provide specified information, including evidence of nationality
and professional qualifications. In the case of professions having
human health or safety implications and which are not subject
to automatic recognition,[6]
the competent authority of the host Member State may check the
practitioner's professional qualifications before he or she first
provides services in that country. Such a check
"shall apply only to professions where the absence
of a prior verification could lead to serious and irreversible
damage to the health or safety of the service recipient due to
lack of professional qualification of the service provider."
The competent authority should try to tell the service
provider the outcome of the check within one month of receiving
the information it requires.
6.11 Articles 10 to 15 set out the rules for the
recognition of the qualifications of professions other than those
dealt with by Articles 20 to 25. Article 15 provides for "common
platforms". A common platform is an agreement which facilitates
the mutual recognition of professional qualifications. Common
platforms may be proposed by Member States or by professional
associations.
6.12 Articles 16 to 19 are concerned with professions
where access to the pursuit of an activity listed in Annex IV
of the Directive (for example, slaughter, preparation and preservation
of meat) is contingent not on qualifications but on knowledge
and aptitudes. The host Member State is required to recognise
previous pursuit of the activity in another Member State as sufficient
proof of knowledge and aptitudes to entitle the practitioner to
provide the service in the host State.
6.13 Articles 20 to 45 make detailed provision for
the automatic recognition of the qualifications of doctors, general
nurses, dentists, midwives, veterinary surgeons, pharmacists and
architects.
6.14 Article 54 provides for the establishment of
a Committee to assist the Commission on the recognition of professional
qualifications. The members of the Committee are to be representatives
of the Member States. It is to be chaired by the Commission.
The Government's view
6.15 The Minister of State for Lifelong Learning,
Further and Higher Education at the Department for Education and
Skills (Mr Alan Johnson) has kept us informed of the progress
of the negotiations on the draft Directive. In his Explanatory
Memorandum and letter of 4 May, the Minister tells us that the
proposed Directive consolidates all the existing Directives on
mutual recognition of qualifications. It maintains the principal
conditions and guarantees which already exist, while facilitating
mutual recognition and promoting greater flexibility in the market
for labour and services.
6.16 Article 7(1) of document (c) provides for the
host Member State to carry out checks before a practitioner
of a profession with human health or safety implications first
provides services in the territory of the host State (see paragraph
6.10 above). The Minister welcomes the way this provision is
framed in document (c) because it will enable checks to be made
in advance on, for example, child care, social care and gas installation
practitioners, where a check after the event might be too
late.
6.17 The Minister tells us, however, that Member
States are not all of one mind about Article 7(4). Some would
like the provision for checks in advance to be extended to professions
with legal and financial security implications. Others consider
that the provision limiting checks to professions where the absence
of prior verification could lead to "serious and irreversible
damage to the health or safety of the service recipient"
is too restrictive. Yet other Member States want the reference
in Article 7(4) to "human health or safety implications"
to be replaced by a reference to "public security or health
implications". The Government wishes to retain the present
reference to human health or safety but, if it has to offer some
concession on this, it wishes to ensure the retention of the limitation
of checks in advance to professions where the absence of prior
verification could lead to serious and irreversible damage.
6.18 The present Directives on mutual recognition
of professional qualifications provide for groups of experts to
advise on the implementation of those Directives. Article 54
of document (c) proposes the creation of a single Committee to
advise the Commission. The Minister tells, however, that there
will be, in addition, a working group of experts, drawn from the
competent authorities in Member States, to assist the Commission.
The working group will be able to discuss matters before any
proposal for action is put to the Article 54 Committee. The Government
welcomes this.
6.19 Finally, the Minister tells us that document
(c) is acceptable to the Government as it stands.
Conclusion
6.20 We consider that the proposed Directive will
make a valuable contribution to the mutual recognition of professional
qualifications within the European Community and that this is
likely to be in the interests of the recipients of services as
well as the providers.
6.21 We are grateful for the way in which the
Minister has kept us informed throughout the negotiations and
for his helpful letter and Explanatory Memorandum. We share his
view that the changes incorporated in document (c) have improved
the draft Directive. We are satisfied that it should be cleared
from scrutiny.
6.22 Document (c) supersedes document (a) and
has overtaken document (b). Accordingly, we also clear documents
(a) and (b).
5 Regulated professions are those to which the Directive
applies. Back
6
Doctors, general nurses, dental practitioners, midwives, veterinary
surgeons, pharmacists and architects who satisfy the requirements
of Articles 20 to 45. Back
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