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ON 26TH FEBRUARY A JOINT European Parliament / Council of Ministers directive was adopted to try to simplify the recognition of professional qualifications throughout the European Union. The aim is to encourage people to move jobs from country to country and to encourage the Member States to help them. At the moment recognition of qualifications is dependent on lists published in various EU directives covering different fields. If a qualification changes its name or constituent parts it takes many years for the directives to catch up.
Under the new directive EU Members will be required to notify the EU of any changes to qualifications and, after checking, they will be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities which will considerably speed up the procedure. The new measure will also provide a unified list of the recognised qualifications which are now scattered around many different texts.
On training the new directive obliges EU countries to recognise experience that an individual may have obtained in another Member State as well as the diplomas passed. Overall a decision on an application for professional recognition from a national of another EU country must be made within four months of the original request. When the applicant comes from outside the European Union the decision must take into account the attitude which other Member States take to the qualifications from the applicant's home country and while it will not be compulsory to recognise this training, reasons must be given if a rejection is made. It is hoped that the new directive will help to prevent situations such as that faced by foreign language teachers in Italy who were kept on short term contracts because the Italian authorities did not recognise their right to be treated as qualified lecturers under national law. The European Commission took action on this in 1997.
Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein said: 'There is an urgent need for Community action to promote recognition of professional qualifications across borders. Adoption of this Directive will make it easier for people wishing to work in regulated professions in another Member State. At the same time, the Directive will contribute to labour market flexibility and the creation of a truly European labour market to enable citizens to move around the EU to take up work'. Member States must implement the Directive through national law by 1 January 2003 at the latest.
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The text of the directive is available on the Internet at: |
http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi! |
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Adobe Acrobat Reader' to view it can be downloaded at |
THE EUROPEAN UNION has recognised the high levels of unemployment and poverty in some areas of London by pledging €260 million under objective two of the structural funds. This second priority of the fund is intended to provide support in areas undergoing economic and social restructuring. The EU contribution will attract another €404 million from the public and private sectors, making a total of €664 million (£418 million). This sum is scheduled to create 10,000 new jobs and safeguard 2,700 existing ones.
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Map of the areas covered by the new EU Objective 2 programme for London |
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