10 December 2012

Main results of the Competitiveness Council: Professional Qualifications Directive

The recognition of qualifications among Member States has become a fundamental building block of the single market, and professional mobility a key element of Europe's competitiveness.

The Council took note of a report drawn up by the Presidency on the progress made regarding a draft Directive aimed at making the system of recognition of professional qualifications more efficient, with the purpose of further facilitating mobility of skilled workers across the EU.

On 30 May, the Council held debates on two main aspects of the reform: the creation of the European professional card and the transparency exercise that would lead to mutual evaluations and, possibly, a simplification of the national legal frameworks for the regulated professions.

The European professional card would be an electronic certificate issued by the professional's country of departure that would facilitate the automatic recognition in the host country (the country where the professional seeks establishment).

Currently, some 800 categories of regulated professions exist across the 27 EU members. A regulated profession implies that access to the profession is subject to a person holding a specific qualification, such as a university diploma, and that activities are reserved to holders of such qualifications.

The proposal for amending the current Professional Qualifications Directive was presented on 19 December 2011 (18899/11).

Full results

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