Professional qualifications better recognised across Europe: concrete solutions for making life easier for EU citizens and promoting a European labour market

Who hasn't wanted to go to another European country for work, but had to give up on their plan when faced with the administrative burden? For many professionals, having their professional qualifications recognised at European level is often a real obstacle course.

These difficulties will come to an end though, thanks to new rules on the recognition of professional qualifications between EU Member states, approved by an overwhelming majority of Members of the European Parliament today in plenary.

“We want to help professionals wishing to go and work in another EU Member State to be able to do so without going through a long and costly labyrinth of administrative procedures,” said Constance Le Grip MEP, EPP Group spokesperson on the dossier. “Through this revised directive, the EU is offering professionals concrete tools adapted to today’s reality,” she said.

“The revision of this directive was one of the 12 key actions identified by Commissioner Michel Barnier as essential to reinvigorating the EU Single Market. It is one of the indispensable conditions for the creation of a true single market of labour,” said Constance Le Grip.

"The main novelty of the revised directive is the creation of a professional card. On a voluntary basis, interested professionals can now take advantage of this e-certificate, which will allow them to benefit from recognition procedures that are faster, simpler and more operational,” she said.

“To guarantee the highest level of safety to European consumers, clients and patients, a proactive alert mechanism will be introduced. If a professional in the health sector or in the field of education for underage or small children is subject to a ban by a public authority or a court in their country, the relevant authorities in this Member State will be asked to alert their counterparts in all other EU Member States within three days.”

“The EPP Group has been constantly searching for the right balance between mobility and security: it is essential to strengthen the professional mobility that our citizens are expecting to improve the functioning of the single market, while guaranteeing security and protection to European citizens, patients and consumers,” Constance Le Grip concluded.