20 June 2012

FEE comment letter to the EP on modernising the Professional Qualifications Directive

FEE provided its comments on the European Commission's proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications and Regulation on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System of 19 December, 2011 (proposed PQD).

Recognition of professional qualifications obtained in another EU Member State is essential to establish an internal market for professional services. FEE supports the European Commission’s objective of modernising and simplifying the existing rules to facilitate mobility for professionals where appropriate and help make the European economy more competitive while encouraging growth and job creation.

FEE has for many years supported initiatives to increase mobility of professionals in the accountancy services sphere, including working with member bodies to explain the arrangements under EU legislation for mobility and to reduce barriers.

Mobility for trainees

FEE sees a need to clarify the proposed PQD regarding the following two subjects:

According to the proposed Article 55a, the  home Member State shall recognise the remunerated traineeship pursued in another Member State and certified by a competent authority of that Member State. As a remunerated traineeship is generally pursued in a firm, it is unclear, which competent authority in the host Member State could certify the training. Would it be the competent authority that is dealing with qualification and/or registration of qualified professionals in the host Member State? Would the trainee be required to register pro-forma with a professional institute?  

Furthermore, the requirements for practical  experience of trainees can have a different scope and content in home and host Member State, for example in those cases where a profession is not regulated to the same extent or in the same way in home and host Member State, meaning that education and qualification requirements are different. That can for example be the case if the profession in the host Member State is allowed to provide a different range of services (either more or less) than in the home Member State.

The training that would be certified by the host Member State in those cases may than for example only comprise part of what would be considered as an appropriate training in the home Member State. Would the home Member State be allowed to recognise the completed training as “partial” training and could the home Member State subsequently request further training in the home Member State?  

European Professional Card 

When analysing the proposed provisions, the European Parliament may want to consider specifically whether the system would be cost-efficient and non-bureaucratic to implement and maintain. Reliability and data protection matters would also have to be taken into account.  

Prior declaration 

For professions without a European Professional Card, the current system of a prior declaration would remain. This system is not consistently interpreted in the Member States which might lead to barriers in the internal market.  

There is still a need to clarify the requirements for the prior declaration, in particular under which circumstances the prior  declaration needs to be renewed, for example if another service is provided to the same client in the host Member State or if a similar service is provided to another client in the same host Member State.  

Levels of qualification 

The proposed PQD still groups professional qualifications under certain levels for the conditions for recognition and for the decision to impose compensation measures. However, some of the levels of qualification have been amended (in particular Article 11 (c), (d) and (e)) and one paragraph is deleted.

Although FEE welcomes the proposed amendments, because they drive the focus more on substance and content of a qualification, these amendments may lead to challenges in practice for the relevant host Member State to assess a qualification, in particular as a reference to the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is included.

Central online access to information 

In practice the points of single contact refer to the local competent authorities for specific questions, where the service provider might face different levels of understanding and efficiency. Member States should be encouraged to promote and further develop the effectiveness of communication of the respective competent authorities.  

Transparency – numbers of regulated professions

It might be worth noting that the decision of a Member State to regulate or not regulate a specific profession  can be driven by national considerations about the public interest, quality assurance and consumer protection.  

Full letter

© FEE