On Friday 14 July, the European Commission announced that it was referring Cyprus and Malta to the Court of Justice of the European Union for incorrectly transposing the directive on the recognition of professional qualifications.
The EU is challenging Cyprus because of the preconditions it imposes on engineers and architects to have their qualifications recognised in the country. It previously sent a letter of formal notice to Nicosia in 2017, followed by a reasoned opinion in 2019.
As for Malta, the EU criticises it for imposing additional training and language requirements on people working in the medical and paramedical professions. The EU is also calling into question the administrative procedures and obligations that apply to veterinarians. The Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Valletta in 2019, followed by a reasoned opinion in 2020.
According to the Commission, the infringement proceedings brought against these two countries have not yet resulted in compliance. It therefore decided to proceed to the third stage of the proceedings and refer them to the Court.
Also on 14 July, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Germany and letters of formal notice to Belgium, Cyprus and Romania for breaching the same directive. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)