The 2^nd Vice Chairman and the General Secretary of the ER-WCPT attended on behalf of the Region the second meeting organised by Internal Market and Services DG of the European Commission entitled Evaluation of the Professional Qualifications Directive.

09:00 – 09:30 Registration

09:30 – 10:00 Introduction by the Commission: state of play of the evaluation

Welcome of the participants

Overview of the completion of the first phase of the evaluation and possible next

steps towards a final evaluation report and a possible Green Paper in autumn

2011.

 

10:00 – 11:15 Session 1 - Temporary mobility: potential yet to be unlocked

Directive 2005/36/EC allows for such mobility without prior check of the

qualifications for most of the professions. However, Member States may ask for

prior declarations, for professionals willing to provide services in other Member

States on a temporary or occasional basis. Despite the efforts at simplification,

the interest in using this new regime seems to be limited.

• Presentation by the Commission of current findings after the first phase of

the evaluation

• Comments by professional organisations on these findings

• Invitation to professional organisations to present specific examples and case

studies

 

11:15 – 11:30 Coffee break

 

11:30 - 12:15 Session 2a - Automatic recognition on the basis of minimum training

The system of automatic recognition, based on the harmonisation of minimum

training requirements for sectoral professions is overall well received by

competent authorities. However, it is based on requirements established a long

time ago.

• Presentation by the Commission of current findings after the first phase of

the evaluation

• Comments by professional organisations on these findings

 

12:15 – 12:45 Session 2b – Automatic recognition based on professional experience: a

Professionals of craft, industry and commerce benefit from the automatic

recognition of the qualifications on the basis of their professional experience.

This mechanism seems to work quite smoothly, however some competent

authorities have expressed concerns about the nature of activities falling under

this recognition system (i.e. activities listed in Annex IV of the Directive).

• Presentation by the Commission of current findings after the first phase of

the evaluation

• Comments by professional organisations on these findings

 

12:45 – 13:45 Lunch break

 

13:45 – 14:30 Session 3a - The "general system": the complex landscape of

Directive 2005/36/EC consolidated the previous "mutual recognition" Directives

(Directives 89/48/EC and 92/51/EC), based on the comparison of qualifications

and the possibility to impose "compensatory measures" on migrants in case of

substantial differences in the training. However, the implementation of this

system is still considered complex by most of the Member States.

• Presentation by the Commission of current findings after the first phase of

the evaluation

• Short overview about planned external study on the interaction between the

Directive and recent educational reforms: presentation by the Commission

• Comments by professional organisations

• Invitation to present specific examples and case studies related

 

14:30 – 15:00 Session 3b - Common platforms: a failure under the current Directive

• Presentation by the Commission

• Invitation to professional organisations to which extent pilot projects could

be launched

 

15:00 – 15:15 Coffee break

 

15:15 – 16:00 Session 4 – Does a professional card offer potential?

The Directive currently offers practical means to render assistance to citizens. A

professional card might be a further means.

• Presentation by the Commission of current findings after the first phase of

the evaluation

• Comments by professional organisations

• Invitation to present ongoing projects and case studies

• Discussion on possible pilot projects within a focus group composed of a

limited number of professions

 

16:15 – 16:30 Conclusions by the Chairman

 

Venue: European Commission (1 Place Madou)

Date: 17 March 2010

 

The 2^nd Vice Chairman and the General Secretary of the ER-WCPT attended on behalf of the Region a meeting organised by Internal Market and Services DG of the European Commission entitled Evaluation of the Professional Qualifications Directive.

88 representatives from a large variety of organisations – professions attended the conference. Please see annex 1 for detailed information about the participants

 

The meeting had the following agenda:

 

09.30 – 09.45            Introduction by the Commission

 

09.45 – 10.15            Objectives of an evaluation of a Directive

 

10.15 – 13.00            Questions for the evaluation of the Professional Qualifications Directive

 

13.00 – 14.30            Lunch break

 

14.30 – 15.00            Follow up of discussion on evaluation questions

 

15.00 – 16.00            Gathering evidence during evaluation exercise

 

16.00 – 16.30            Next steps and conclusion by the Commission

The purpose of the meeting was to present how the EU Commission is following the evaluation of the implementation of the directive at national and EU level and raise questions about it for comments on writing to be received in three weeks after the meeting.

 

The conference started with a presentation about the Commission understanding of evaluation itself (Annex 2) followed by a presentation of the Results of the Eurobarometer Studies on free movement an Professional Qualifications (Annex 3)

 

After these presentations, and having a common agreement about the meaning of evaluation and a picture of the trends in willingness and disincentives to work abroad, took place a presentation of the state of art of the Transposition of the Directive (Annex 4)

 

If a citizen is mobile in Europe which importance does the recognition of professional qualifications play in relation to other types of obstacles (e.g. language, social security, and residence rights)?

 

How has the new regime for temporary provision of services been implemented? To what extent is it attractive for self-employed persons and for workers?

  

To what extent has the Professional Qualifications Directive brought about simplification for self-employed persons and for workers?

 

To what extent has the system of automatic recognition been a success? Is there any downside or have there been any pitfalls? What about language requirements?

 

Is the recognition mechanism in place (including the list of activities in Annex IV of the Directive) up to date and does it work smoothly in practice?

 

Which problems arise from the implementation of the current provisions on third country diplomas? Do they take account of the increased mobility of students?

 

Is administrative co-operation amongst Member States effective and comprehensive enough? To which extent does the current use of IMI contribute to the well functioning of the Professional Qualifications Directive?

How transparent are Member States about their national requirements regarding the recognition of professional qualifications?

 

To which extent do national contact points play a proper role in assisting citizens on the spot in their contacts with domestic competent authorities?

 

To what extent are the minimum qualifications for seven sectoral professions still up to date in view of scientific progress? To which extent is safety of patients sufficiently taken into account in the training of health professions?

 

Can the Bologna process bring about more automatic recognition on the basis of converging training programs? For which economic sectors and related regulated professions in the Internal Market would this be most beneficial?

 

Several European initiatives in the field of education have an impact on the way qualifications are obtained and defined (lifelong training/competence based approach to training/European qualification framework). How do those developments influence the Professional Qualifications Directive?

 

Is there a link between educational reform and a need for strengthening continuous professional development?

 

To what extent can the directive help reducing unemployment in particular for young people? Does the process of recognition of professional qualifications help or hinder the professionals in finding employment in the host Member State?

 

To what extent does the Professional Qualifications Directive meet future professional needs (“new skills, new jobs” initiative of the Commission) in key sectors?

 

To what extent does the Professional Qualifications Directive allow to meet the challenges of demographic developments in the coming years (in particular demographic decline in the active population)?

 

To which extent do citizens use electronic means in their contacts with competent authorities (see also Article 8 of the Services Directive)?

 

To which extent is the recognition system adapted to situations where a professional provides services by moving physically and/or by communicating via modern technologies (e.g. telemedicine, videoconferences)? 

 

  

To what extent are common platforms a workable tool to facilitate migration?

 

Under which conditions could a professional card facilitate migration? Is this a feasible project in a foreseeable future? Should it be limited to specific professions?

 

Could professional organisations provide a valuable contribution in other areas?

A next meeting will be planned to take place after summer 2010 and further information will be presented to the professional organisations based on their comments and the member states actions.