Het niet erkennen van diploma's: juridische stappen tegen Frankrijk (sociaal werk, makelaars, artsen), Portugal (architecten), Griekenland (opticiens) en Italië (notariaat) (en)

The European Commission has taken action against Portugal, Greece and France to correct breaches of EU law on professional qualifications.

Portugal will be referred to the European Court of Justice over its recognition procedures for architecture qualifications issued in other Member States, as will Greece over its recognition procedures for optician qualifications. In addition, the Commission has decided, under Article 228 of the EC Treaty, to send a letter of formal notice asking Greece for full information on its execution of a European Court judgement requiring it to allow companies to open optician outlets.

Meanwhile, the Commission has formally requested France to modify its laws in four cases:

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  recognition of third-country diplomas already recognised by another Member State;
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  collective agreements for recognition of social worker qualifications;
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  the recognition procedure for estate agent qualifications issued in other Member States; and
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  the temporary provision of services by doctors, dentists and midwives established in another Member State.

These requests take the form of "reasoned opinions", the second stage of the infringement procedure laid down in Article 226 of the EC Treaty. If there is no satisfactory reply within two months, the Commission may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice.

Finally, the Commission has decided to close a case against Italy following repeal of the condition that notaries must be of Italian nationality.

If EU law on the recognition of professional qualifications is not respected, qualified individuals could be denied the right to practise their profession in any other Member State. Moreover, by placing obstacles in the way of such recognition, Member States make it more difficult for their own citizens and enterprises to select qualified professionals from other Member States to provide services within their territory.

Portugal - architecture qualifications

The Commission has decided to refer Portugal to the European Court of Justice over its recognition procedures for architecture qualifications issued in other Member States.

Directive 85/384/EEC requires Member States to recognise automatically and unconditionally architecture qualifications covered by the Directive and issued in other Member States. Each Member State must accord to holders of the relevant qualifications from elsewhere in the EU the same rights as those bestowed by its own equivalent national qualifications.

Nevertheless, holders of qualifications issued by another Member State and covered by the Directive must take an entrance exam before they are admitted to the Portuguese Institute of Architects (Ordem dos Arquitectos), membership of which is necessary to work as an architect in Portugal. In the Commission's opinion, this exam is in breach of the Directive and is a major barrier to architects with qualifications from elsewhere in the EU who wish to move to Portugal.

Portugal maintained in its reply to the reasoned opinion (second stage of the infringement procedure) that the requirement for an examination is not in breach of EU law and also mentioned a new Admission's Regulation of the Institute which in their opinion makes the absence of a breach absolutely clear. But the Commission contests this view and has therefore decided to pursue the case by referring Portugal to the European Court of Justice.

Greece - optician qualifications

The Commission has decided to refer Greece to the Court of Justice for its refusal to recognise certain qualifications under Directive 92/51/EEC on the recognition of professional qualifications.

Following the Commission's actions under this procedure, Greece has adopted the implementing measures which were missing from Presidential Decree No 231/98 transposing the Directive in question into Greek law.

In addition, the body responsible for dealing with applications for professional recognition has been established and is now fully operational.

However, decisions on applications for recognition have not always been in accordance with Community law. In particular, Greece still refuses to recognise opticians' diplomas obtained by its own nationals on its territory but from institutions which provide other Member States' courses on a franchise basis.

The Commission has therefore decided to refer this case to the Court of Justice.

Greece - opening of optician outlets by companies

The Commission has decided to send Greece a letter of formal notice for failing to take the necessary measures to bring its legislation on the opening of optician outlets by legal persons into line with EU rules following the European Court of Justice's judgment of 21 April 2005 (case C-140/03). Although Greek legislation has certainly been amended, it continues to reserve ownership of optician outlets for accredited opticians. Therefore the freedom of establishment of companies from other Member States is still restricted in Greece since they can never be the sole owner of an optician outlet.

France - recognition of third-country qualifications already recognised by another Member State

The Commission has decided to send France a supplementary reasoned opinion because its legislation on the recognition of third-country diplomas held by Community nationals and already recognised by another EU Member State fails to comply with Community law.

In accordance with the judgment by the Court of Justice of 14 September 2000 in Case C-238/98 Hocsman, Article 43 of the Treaty on the freedom of establishment requires the Member States, in the case of requests relating to a qualification obtained outside the EU which has already been recognised by another Member State, to take into consideration all qualifications, as well as the relevant experience of the interested party, while proceeding to a comparison between, on the one hand, the skills attested by these qualifications and this experience, whether they are Community or extra-Community, and, on the other hand, the knowledge and qualifications required by national legislation.

The measures adopted by France in transposing Directive 2001/19/EC concerning the professions of doctor, dental practitioner, midwife, nurse responsible for general care, pharmacist, veterinary surgeon and architect, only take into consideration training and professional experience subsequently acquired in a Member State, alongside the knowledge and qualifications attested by the diploma obtained in the third country and already recognised by another Member State. Any continuing or further training and professional experience which may have been obtained outside the EU are not therefore taken into consideration.

The Commission therefore considers that the French legislation does not comply with Article 43 of the Treaty on the freedom of establishment, as interpreted by the Court of Justice, and that it also fails to comply with Article 39 on the free movement of workers.

The French authorities have not replied to the supplementary letter of formal notice sent to them in March 2005.

France - collective agreements for recognition of social worker qualifications

The Commission has decided to send France a reasoned opinion for having approved collective agreements applicable to the social professions which contain a nationality requirement for the qualifications and provisions which are contrary to Directives 89/48/EEC and 92/51/EEC on the general system for the recognition of diplomas, and for not having transposed these Directives as regards the recognition of qualifications covered by these agreements.  As the situation stands, social workers from other Member States encounter problems in carrying out their profession on French territory.

The answers given by the French authorities to the letter of formal notice and supplementary letter of formal notice have not been considered satisfactory. The French authorities have not replied to the second supplementary letter of formal notice.

France - recognition of estate-agent qualifications obtained in another Member State

The Commission has decided to send France a reasoned opinion because its legislation on the recognition of estate-agent qualifications obtained in another Member State of the European Union does not comply with Articles 39, 43 and 49 of the EC Treaty. The French regulations discriminate on the grounds of nationality in so far as qualified estate agents who have worked in another Member State are required to have more professional experience than qualified French estate agents.

The French authorities had stated that they would adopt legislative measures to put an end to this breach of Community law. These measures should have been adopted in the second half of 2004, but the Commission has not been notified of any changes.

France - temporary provision of services by doctors, dentists and midwives established in another Member State

The Commission has decided to issue France with a reasoned opinion concerning the arrangements for the free provision of services in France by professionals whose qualifications are automatically recognised under Community Directives.

The Commission feels that the conditions set out under French legislation concerning the temporary provision of services by doctors, dentists and midwives established in another Member State are unduly restrictive. The Directives on the automatic recognition of the qualifications of doctors (Directive 93/16/EEC), dentists (Directive 78/686/EEC) and midwives (Directive 80/154/EEC) which are based on the harmonisation of training and thus provide sufficient guarantees for the professionals in question, have established simplified procedures for the provision of services. These Directives state that a host Member State can request that such a professional make a prior declaration concerning the provision of his/her services. However, the conditions applied to this prior declaration under French legislation (Article R4112-12 of the Public Health Code) are problematic, since, on the one hand, migrants are required to make a declaration per medical procedure or per patient, and on the other hand, services can only be provided to the same patient for a maximum of two days in France. In the Commission's opinion, these rules go beyond the provisions of the above-mentioned Directives, as well as the criteria set by the Court of Justice in this matter, and they hinder the free provision of services by the professionals concerned. Moreover, in this way, France is reducing the opportunities available to its own citizens to be treated by qualified professionals from other Member States.

The French authorities have not replied to the letter of formal notice sent to them by the Commission.

Italy - notaries

The Commission decided on 13 December to close the infringement proceedings against Italy after the nationality requirement to become a notary was repealed. Italy has thus become the third Member State to abolish this requirement, after Spain and Portugal.