Press Release

06/09/2005

Giuseppe Gargani MEP - Klaus-Heiner Lehne MEP on the role of the free professions - reject Commission Proposals

The European Commissioner, Nellie Kroes, and her officials have again misjudged the special role of free professions, namely the legal professions, for a well functioning legal system. Mr Gargani, Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament and Mr Klaus-Heiner Lehne spokesman of the EPP-ED Group in the same committee, reject the report of the European Commission on liberal professions and competition law and the statement of Commissioner Neelie Kroes on the same issue. The Commission published, on 05.09.05, a Communication on the reform of the free professions

The European Parliament has underlined the decisive role of free professions in a free society twice, in its resolutions of 2001 and 2003. In terms of competition law, we cannot deal with free professions as we could with the supermarket around the corner. For instance, a regulated fee system in legal Court procedures is of the greatest importance for consumers. How can we guarantee an equal access to law if we do not have clear rules on compensation of the legal costs on the basis of such a fee system? The Commission's proposal is not on the target of creating competition for the benefit of consumers. On the contrary, it raises the access costs to justice and legal assistance for tax payers and consumers. In fact, it is interesting to see in this respect that Great Britain, which abolished a regulated fee system a long time ago, now has the highest legal fees in the whole EU.

Therefore, we will invite Commissioner Kroes to the Legal Affairs Committee in order to discuss this point and to have a deeper understanding of this important issue.

In the consultations on the Services directive, we support the Commission's positive attitude towards free professions, and we point out the contradictions between DG Competition and the Commission's proposal for the liberalisation of the services sector.


For further information please contact:
Office of MEP Giuseppe Gargani
Phone: +33 3 8175168 or +32 2 2845168
Email: giuseppe.gargani@europarl.europa.eu