Brussels, 05/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - Professional activities subject to rules issued by a private organisation recognised by a member state are to be regarded as activities not regulated by that member state and recognition, in another member state, of qualifications relating to professional activities must be based on continuous and regular professional experience for at least two years, covering a range of activities characteristic of the profession.
The above are the criteria laid down by the European Court of Justice in Case C-424/09 on 5 April 2011 on the recognition of professional qualifications and training and the recognition of higher education diplomas issued in a country where the profession is regulated (Greece, in this case) or where the applicant has pursued the profession in question full-time for two years in another member state which does not regulate that profession (the UK, where the profession is regulated by a private body, the Engineering Council).
Christina Toki, a Greek national, obtained Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Science degrees in environmental engineering at the end of the 1990s in the United Kingdom and then did specialist research worked for the University of Portsmouth but was not allowed to exercise the profession in Greece because while she was in the UK, she had not been a full member of the Engineering Council in the UK and therefore had not become a Chartered Engineer, a qualification needed to work in Greece.
The Court of Justice says that in respect of the professions concerned, the Court holds that solely the mechanism of recognition which requires full-time pursuit of the profession for at least two years is applicable and this mechanism of recognition is applicable irrespective of whether the person concerned is a member of the organisation concerned. The three requisite conditions to be taken into account for professional experience are: - full-time work for at least two years during the previous ten years; - the work must have consisted of the continuous and regular pursuit of a range of professional activities which characterise the profession concerned in the member state of origin (the United States); - the profession, as it is normally pursued in the member state of origin, must be equivalent, in respect of the activities which it covers, to the profession which the person has sought authorisation to pursue in the host member state (Greece).
The Court of Justice adds: “It is for the competent authorities of the host member state to verify those matters of fact”. (F.G./transl.fl)