WRITTEN QUESTION E-0512/03

by Stefano Zappalà (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 February 2003)

Subject: Professional qualifications

Knowing that:

1. In Italy, under the order of 23 October 2002 signed by the Director-General for Civil Justice (published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale, General series, No 261, 7 November 2002), as amended by the order of the Director-General for Civil Justice dated 8 November 2002 (published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale, General series, No 272, 20 November 2002), Mr Marco Cavallera,

an Italian national who graduated from the Turin Polytechnic Institute after completing a three-year course, has apparently been recognised to hold the qualification of Ingeniero Técnico Industrial, especialidad Mecánica.

2. Mr Cavallera seems to have obtained this qualification in Spain, although he has never worked there.

3. It appears to be the case that the qualification has been recognised to be valid for entry in the Italian Register of Engineers (Section B Industry) and hence to entitle its holder to practice the profession of engineer in Italy.

4. If the facts described above were correct, the implication would be that, by migrating merely on paper as Mr Cavallera has apparently done and evading the spirit and the letter of the relevant Community directives and the provisions transposing them into national law, Italian nationals could have their names entered in the Register of Engineers and consequently work as such in Italy without being obliged to take the state aptitude test, even though this is provided for in Article 33 of the Constitution.

Could the Commission ascertain whether this case actually occurred and, if so, indicate what steps it will take?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(2 May 2003)

The Honourable Member's question prompts the following comments:

- As regards the recognition of professional qualifications, the profession of engineer is governed by Directive 89/48/EEC(1). Under this directive, a Member State may not in principle refuse to allow a Community national to take up and pursue a regulated profession when this national holds the diploma required in his/her Member State of origin or provenance for the pursuit of that profession. It is not clear from the order of 23 October 2002 concerning Mr Cavallera, to which the Honourable Member refers, whether the Spanish qualification of Ingeniero Técnico Industrial, especialidad Mecànica was obtained by this national at the end of a training course followed in Spain or simply on the basis of the recognition of his Italian qualification in mechanical engineering. The aforementioned directive contains rules on the recognition by a Member State of qualifications obtained in another Member State, but not on the recognition by a Member State of decisions on recognition taken by another Member State on the basis of qualifications obtained outside its territory.

- If Mr Cavallera completed a training course in Spain and was awarded the qualification required in this Member State to take up the profession of engineer, he was entitled to invoke Directive 89/48/EEC in order to have this qualification recognised by the Italian authorities and enable him to take up the same profession in Italy, by having his name registered by the competent professional body without having to take the State aptitude test required for this purpose by professionals who have obtained their qualifications in Italy.

- On the other hand, if Mr Cavallera obtained his engineering qualification in Italy and his Spanish diploma was issued without him having completed any training in Spain and solely on the basis of recognition by the Spanish authorities of his Italian qualifications, Mr Cavallera could not invoke Directive 89/48/EEC in order to be exempted from the test required for entry into the register of engineers. Directive 89/48/EEC did introduce a general system for the recognition of qualifications, with the aim of allowing Community nationals to take up and pursue a professional activity in a different Member State (host Member State) from that in which they obtained their qualifications (Member State of origin). If Mr Cavallera's situation is indeed as described above, the Member State of origin is Italy, since the qualification was obtained in Italy and the Spanish authorities simply recognised its equivalence with that of the Spanish Ingeniero Técnico Industrial university degree. The Commission considers, therefore, that a person who holds a qualification issued in the Member State of origin and has obtained recognition of this qualification in a host Member State should not be able to invoke Directive 89/48/EEC in returning to his/her Member State of origin and claiming different rights from those attached to this qualification.

- In light of the above, if Mr Cavallera did not obtain his diploma in Spain on the basis of training undertaken in this Member State, the Italian authorities were not obliged, under Directive 89/48/EEC, to recognise his Spanish qualification in order to exempt him from the test required for entry into the register of engineers. The proposal for a directive on the recognition of professional qualifications submitted by the Commission on 7 March 2002 does not alter this analysis. On the contrary, Community law does not prevent a Member State from applying more favourable rules based on national law.

(1) Council Directive 89/48/EEC of 21 December 1988 on a general system for the recognition of higher-education diplomas awarded on completion of professional education and training of at least three years' duration OJ L 19, 24.1.1989.