Brussels, 19/05/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, the Competitiveness Council reached a political agreement on the directive that extends the principle of mutual recognition to all professional qualifications. Summarising the 15 current directives or regulations, the text should in principle facilitate services provision between Member States. Differences cover a key innovation: provision of temporary or crossborder services. The Commission hoped professionals would be able to offer their services "temporarily" without formalities. At first reading, the Parliament introduced restrictions for professions presenting a health or security risk. With the adoption of a compromise proposed by France, against objection raised by Germany and Greece, the Council introduces a system of prior declaration for all professions covered.
The text adopted by the Council stipulates that "Member States may require that, where the service provider crosses internal market borders for the first time in order to provide services, he shall inform the competent authorities in the host Member State in a written declaration including information concerning insurance cover or other means of personal or collective protection with regard to professional liability. Such a declaration shall be renewed once a year if the service provider intends to provide temporary or occasional services in that Member State during that year. The service provider may supply the declaration by any means".
Furthermore, when services are initially provided, Member States may request that the declaration be accompanied by: proof of nationality, a certificate attesting to the fact that the service provider is legally established in a Member State to provide the service concerned, proof of his qualifications, and proof that the service provider has already carried out the activity in question at least two years during the last ten years. France had said when presenting this compromise that such requirements were "proportionate" to the requirements of citizen protection. It mainly sought to ensure that professionals will be subject to a disciplinary regime and that they are indeed the qualifications needed for the services proposed.
Commissioner Bolkestein felt the result obtained after long and painful discussion was "on the whole acceptable", although he was disappointed on some points. Referring to Germany, which is opposed to the system in general, he criticised the protectionism of some Member States. During the debate, Dutch minister L. J. Brinkhorst called for obstacles to free movement to be lifted, saying that some Member States do not seem to agree that the Internal market is only complete on condition that it is according to the rules that they apply internally.