APPENDIX 2: EXPLANATORY INFORMATION (SI
2007/3101)
European Qualifications (Health and Social Care
Professions) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/3101)
Negotiation of Directive
1. The proposal for a Directive on the recognition
of professional qualifications was introduced at the Barcelona
Summit in March 2002 and presented to the Internal Market Consumer
and Tourism Council on 21 May 2002. The Commission presented the
draft legal text to Member States on 4 June 2002. Consultation
on the draft Directive was launched in the UK on 1 July 2002 and
closed on 30 September 2002.
2. There was general support for the proposal's
intent to rationalise and simplify the Directives covering the
recognition of professional qualifications. Concerns were limited
to new provisions which went beyond consolidation of existing
legal text. A number of respondents welcomed the relaxations proposed
for service providers, allowing a service provider to operate
for sixteen weeks in a year on home state registration without
having to seek and secure formal authorisation or registration
in the host Member State, but there was strong reaction to the
relaxations in some quarters, on grounds of public safety and
protection and animal welfare. There was general support for the
introduction of common platforms, subject to clarification of
the means by which they would operate. The ability of a single
committee to reflect the full range of professional interests
covered by a single directive was also a cause for concern.
3. Discussion during the negotiation phase of
the Directive primarily centred on the new elements: temporary
provision of services, common platforms and the single committee.
As expected, the provisions relating to temporary provision of
services raised the most concerns, and as a result the most contentious
issues were displaced by safeguards. Article 15 of the Directive
contains further clarification on common platforms and Article
59 gives reassurance about consultation with expert groups of
professionals. The European Directive 2005/36/EC was adopted on
7 September 2005.
4. Under the temporary provision of services
provision, we argued for a maximum of 16 weeks by which a migrant
could provide services under their home state registration. However,
no agreement could be reached with other member states on the
time limit, therefore, no time limit was agreed. This effectively
meant that temporary registration could be undertaken for 52 weeks.
We did secure flexibility in the case of regulated professions
having public health or safety implications that the competent
authority could check professional qualifications. We have taken
up this option while some member states have indicated that they
were proposing not to check.
Documentary Evidence
5. The Committee has asked how we envisage UK
regulators will be able to check the authenticity of documents
presented and whether they relate to the individual.
6. The Directive allows regulators (competent
authorities) only to ask the migrant for confirmation that he/she
is legally established in a Member State, evidence of professional
qualifications and proof of nationality. However, the regulators
can ask the competent authority in the migrant's member state
for further relevant information. To help speed up the process
of checking a new computer system is being set up for the regulators
in each member state to communicate with each other. The system,
known as IMI, is currently being piloted and the General Medical
Council are leading on the pilot and introduction on behalf of
the UK. Article 8 of Directive 2005/36/EC on recognition of professional
qualifications provides, for the first time, a statutory duty
on EEA competent authorities to cooperate with each other. Each
competent authority (GMC etc and their equivalents throughout
the EEA) will have a legal requirement to provide on request any
relevant information as to the legality of the professional's
establishment and good conduct. Competent authorities will also
be required to provide any information concerning disciplinary
or criminal sanctions of a professional nature. The IMI system
will be used for the information flows and the European Commission
will monitor, and if necessary take action, including failure
to respond to relevant information requests.
7. The requirement to cooperate and the new IMI
system will improve information flows and will enhance the checking
process. Document authenticity has not changed and the UK regulators
are able to check with their European counterparts if suspicions
are aroused.
Department of Health
November 2007
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