301 / 482
GAZETTE
SEPTEMBER
1989
Recognition of Higher Education
Qualifications (Diplomas)
The following is the text of the
Europen
Information Leaflet No. 3 and is
reprinted here with the kind permission of the Department of the Taoiseach.
Introduction
Freedom of movement throughout
the Member States and the right to
set up in business anywhere in the
Community are fundamental rights
guaranteed to citizens of the
European Community under the
Treaty of Rome. However, all
Member States require specific
qualifications before people are
allowed to exercise certain pro-
fessional ac t i v i t i es in their
countries. These qualifications are
ordinarily awarded by national or
professional authorities or by a
higher education institution within
the Member States. Permission to
carry on these professional activ-
ities by non-nationals is usually on
the basis of the possession of an
equivalent qualification obtained
elsewhere. At present, therefore, a
person qualified to practise a
particular profession in one
Member State (very often their
own) may have to obtain additional
qualifications before being in a
position to exercise that profession
in another Member State.
Some Directives have already
been adopted to make it easier for
certain professions to practise else-
where in the Community. This has
been done by agreeing detailed
regulations to harmonise training
and other requirements for specific
professional activities. Directives
already in force cover doctors,
nurses, dentists, veterinary sur-
geons, midwives, architects, phar-
macists and general practitioners.
Change in Approach
These specific sectoral Directives
proved difficult to agree and it was
felt that a new way had to be found
to facilitate the free movement of
those holding professional qualifi-
cations. In 1985, the Commission
proposed a new approach in this
area through a Directive on a
General System for the Recognition
of Higher Education Qualifications
(called 'Diplomas' in the Directive).
The aim was to establish a system
whereby Member States would
mutually recognise qualifications
required to practise regulated pro-
fessions. The Directive was agreed
in principle by the Council of
Ministers towards the end of June
1988 and was formally adopted on
21st December, 1988. Member
States will have two years after its
adoption to implement it.
Scope of the Generel Directive
The Directive does not apply to pro-
fessions which are subject to
separate sectoral Directives such
as those men t i oned in t he
introduction.
The Directive provides for the
general recognition in the Com-
munity of the qualifications re-
quired to exercise what are referred
to in the Directive as professions
which are regulated in a Member
State. A regulated profession or re-
gulated professional activity means
a profession or activity the taking
up or pursuit of which is made
subject, by virtue of laws, regula-
tions or administrative provisions,
to having a qualification obtained
after a period of higher education
and professional training of at least
three years duration. The education
and training to obtain the qualifi-
cation must have been received
wholly or mainly in the European
Community. Otherwise the holder
of the qualification in question
must have had three years pro-
fessional experience certified by a
Member State where a qualifica-
tion obtained outside the Com-
munity is recognised. Professional
activities which are reserved to
holders of a diploma recognised by
the Directive are also included as
are those professional activities
relating to health.
Associations
The Directive also recognises as a
regulated activity any activity
carried on by members of an
association or organisation author-
ised by a Member State and whose
objectives are to promote and
maintain high standards in the
corresponding professional field.
These associations or organi-
sations must be those which:
- award a diploma to its
members;
- ensure that its members respect
the rules of professional
conduct which it prescribes;
- confer on them the right to use
a title or designatory letters, or
to benefit from a status corres-
ponding to that Diploma.
In Ireland and the United Kingdom,
this provision relates to organisa-
tions such as chartered bodies and
institutions such as the Institute of
Chartered Accountants in Ireland
and The I ns t i t u te of Public
Administration.
Professions
Professions which are not regu-
lated in any Member State are not
covered by the Directive. If some-
one with a professional qualifica-
tion comes to a Member State
where that profession is not
regulated, whether they come from
a Member State which regulates
the profession or not, then the
Directive is not applicable. How-
ever, if a person goes to a Member
State which regulates the pro-
fession even if the profession is not
regulated in the Member State he
or she comes from, then that
person's qualifications must be
examined and recognised under the
terms of the Directive.
New Provisions
The Directive differs from earlier
"sectoral" Directives in several
important aspects, apart from its
general character.
Firstly, recognition is to be based
on mutual trust without the
need for prior co-ordination of
the education and training
systems of the professions in
question.
Secondly, r ecogn i t i on is
accorded to the " f i n i s hed
279