Brussels, 06/05/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 6 May, the European Commission decided to begin, and continue in certain cases, procedures for infringement of Community provisions, particularly in the domain of public procurement, professional qualifications and company law.
Public procurement: a formal request to Italy regarding the procurement of waste management and pharmacies management services by the City of Rocca Priora. A formal request was also sent to Germany concerning the award of discount contracts by some 240 German statutory sickness insurance funds. Statutory sickness insurance funds use different procedures for awarding these framework contracts. These procedures range from direct awards to competitive procedures without European-wide tender. Most procedures do not comply with the standards required by the European public procurement Directives because economic operators who do not obtain these framework contracts are effectively excluded with their products from the German market for the duration of these contracts. Rom and Berlin have two months to provide the Commission with a satisfactory response.
Professional qualifications - The Commission has decided to refer Portugal and the United Kingdom to the European Court of Justice over their failure to inform the Commission of measures taken to implement Directive 2006/100/EC. This Directive provides for technical adaptations to the Directives on professional qualifications further to the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union on 1 January 2007. It updates, amongst others, all the lists of qualifications which benefit from automatic recognition by completing them with the corresponding Bulgarian and Romanian qualifications. As long as the Directive is not implemented into national law, professionals holding Bulgarian or Romanian qualifications risk enduring needlessly bureaucratic and slow procedures before being able to exercise their right to work anywhere in the European Union.
The Commission has decided to send a reasoned opinion to nine Member States, namely Ireland, Greece, France, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Hungary, Austria, Portugal and Slovenia, for failing to notify it of their transposition measures for Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications. The Directive simplifies the structure of the system of recognition of qualifications and improves the way it operates. It thus aims to facilitate mobility within the internal market. It covers the professions of doctor, nurse responsible for general care, dental practitioner, veterinary surgeon, midwife, pharmacist and architect and covered most other regulated professions.
The European Commission has also sent Cyprus another official request for information on its national legislation restricting the activities of estate agents. The Law adopted in July 2007, after an initial letter of formal notice was sent in July 2006 concerning the provisions of Law 273/2004, does in fact pose certain conditions upon the recognition of the qualifications of the professionals of other Member States and imposes limits upon the exercise of this profession by legal persons, as well as upon the freedom to provide services in this sector. The Commission considers that these provisions may be incompatible with Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications, and with Articles 43 and 49 of the EC Treaty guaranteeing the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services. On the other hand, the European Commission has decided to close an infringement case against Austria concerning restrictive conditions on the provision of services by foreign boiler inspection bodies, as the obstacles in question have now been removed.
Private sickness funds - A reasoned opinion has been sent to Belgium to amend its national rules so that the private sickness funds (mutualités/ziekenfondsen) comply with the EU insurance directives when they offer complementary health insurance cover outside the scope of obligatory social security. In Belgium, private sickness funds operate under specific national rules and are not subject to EU rules relating to the solvency, supervision and funding of insurance providers. The Commission is concerned that this could result in differing levels of policyholder protection and market distortions
Corporate governance and company law - The European Commission has decided to address reasoned opinions to the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands and Poland over their failure to implement in national law within the prescribed deadlines the Directive on transparency obligations of listed companies. The European Commission has decided to address reasoned opinions to the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands and Poland over their failure to implement in national law within the prescribed deadlines the Directive on transparency obligations of listed companies (Directive 2004/109/EC). Additionally, the Commission has decided to bring a case before the European Court of Justice against Italy over its failure to fully implement the Directive setting out disclosure requirements in respect of listed and non-listed companies. (O.L.)