Joint Statement of the European Sectoral Professions

In the context of Modernisation of the Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications

Architects Council of Europe (ACE)

Council of European Dentists (CED)

European Federation of Nurses Associations (EFN)

European Midwives Association (EMA)

Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE)

Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU)

Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME)

QUALITY AND INTEGRITY OF QUALIFICATIONS MUST BE PRESERVED

7 November 2011

The seven Sectoral Professions call upon the Commission to take the following fundamental principles into account when drafting the legislative proposal:

- Amend the Directive in a consistent and clear way in order to strengthen the quality and safety of the services provided by the sectoral professionals;

- Ensure that automatic recognition of qualifications shall be restricted to professionals who have completed a full course of study satisfying the minimum training conditions as stipulated by the Directive;

- Refrain from introducing the “Partial Access” principle to the Directive since it has the potential to dangerously undermine the integrity and quality of qualifications of the sectoral professions thus causing health and safety threats for the general public;

- Retain the levels of qualifications in Article 11 of the Directive, whose deletion would undermine the established practice and transparency in the General System and ultimately in the Automatic Recognition system;

- Update the list of training subjects as part of the first phase of modernisation where necessary and applicable1;

- Implement effectively Article 59 of the Directive allowing experts from the professional groups concerned to exchange views and reports with the Committee of Member States’ Representatives as laid down by Article 58.

1 Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), Council of European Dentists (CED), European Federation of Nurses Associations (EFN), European Midwives Association (EMA); not applicable for physicians.