On Monday 16 December, the European Commission decided to take Bulgaria and Cyprus to court for failing to comply with the 2018 directive requiring Member States to carry out proportionality checks. This text obliges Member States to analyse the proportionality of any new measure governing access to the professions before adopting it. The aim is to avoid restricting access to certain professions more than is necessary.
According to the European Commission, Bulgaria is not fulfilling its obligations because it does not apply proportionality checks to parliamentary amendments. As for the controls that are actually carried out, their independence is not guaranteed. This is why the Commission sent Sofia a letter of formal notice in 2023, followed by a reasoned opinion in July 2024.
Cyprus also received such letters on the same dates. The Commission considers that Nicosia does not systematically carry out proportionality checks on all the measures covered by the Directive. Nor does the country provide stakeholders with sufficient information on these controls. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)