WIREDGOV

The European Commission has published a European map of regulated professions - those professions to which access is conditional upon the possession of specific qualifications or for which the use of a specific title is protected, e.g. pharmacists or architects.  

This interactive map gathers together the most important information on how professions are regulated in the different Member States, such as the number of regulated professions and their breakdown by sector of the economy, the trend in the number of recognition decisions since 2005, and details of the national contact points responsible for informing professionals about the procedures and formalities to be completed in order to obtain recognition of professional qualifications. The map is a graphic depiction of the information which has just been updated by the Member States in the database of regulated professions in Europe.

Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier explained that "the European map of regulated professions is a transparency tool which provides an overview of the situation on regulated professions in the Member States and the Union as a whole. A careful examination of the map reveals the diversity of approaches adopted by Member States to protect their public interests by regulating certain professions. These approaches reflect different realities, sensitivities and regulatory backgrounds, but they are also the cause of obstacles to the free movement of qualified professionals. The added value of this map is that it provides us with a visual representation of these obstacles and allows us to direct our efforts towards the sectors and professions where the modernisation of the legislative environment is likely to have the greatest effect."

Background

The updating of the Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications, one of the priorities identified in the Single Market Act published in April 2011, was recently completed when Directive 2013/55/EU entered into force on 17 January 2014.

Article 59 of the amended Directive requires Member States to provide the Commission with a list of their regulated professions and undertake an assessment of the justification and proportionality of the rules in place.

The Communication of 2 October 2013 sets out an ambitious work plan for the Commission and the national administrations participating in the mutual evaluation, covering a period of two years. In terms of specific results, the Member States will be required to publish action plans, based on the European map of regulated professions, describing the measures they will take in order to resolve possible problems identified during the mutual evaluation and modernise their legislative environments. The Commission will then draw up a report evaluating the Member States’ plans with the aim of ensuring that the process will lead to specific measures.

European map of regulated professions:

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/qualifications/regprof/index.cfm?acti on=map