WIREDGOV

I have just met with Malcolm Harbour MEP, Chair of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and Emma McClarkin MEP.

As I explained to them, I can't comment on the details of the Butler case as it's an ongoing legal case but suggesting the single market does not work for ski instructors is wrong.

There may be a few specific problems which need to be tackled on a case by case basis, but the facts are clear:

1. Ski instructors are a regulated profession in a number of Member States, such as Italy, Austria or France. This is in line with EU law.

2. There is an agreed procedure to be followed to have a qualification recognized in another Member State.

3. Around 35,000 professionals (doctors, nurses, architects, etc.) benefit from it every year (up from 25,000 few years ago).

4. Over 350 fully qualified British ski instructors have benefited from the recognition procedure and are currently established in France. (More British ski workers can exercise as seasonal workers.)

5. Since I have been Commissioner, I have pushed strongly for a specific European recognition mechanism for ski instructors to cut red tape, sparing ski instructors the administrative checks on their qualifications.

6. The recognition mechanism for ski instructors, a scheme backed by 11 Member States - including the UK, Italy, Austria and France - allows any fully qualified ski instructor who fulfils the conditions without any formality other than a declaration to:

• work for any ski school;

• provide private coaching, for example on a freelance basis;

• Or to open their own ski school in any of those 11 member States.

2. I confirmed to both Malcolm Harbour and Emma McClarkin that my services have received complaints on the recognition of qualifications for ski instructors in France and we are investigating them, seriously and efficiently in the way we investigate all complaints."