WRITTEN QUESTION E-2543/99

by Neil MacCormick (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(4 January 2000)

Subject: EU enlargement, free movement of doctors and patient safety

When the EU enlarges, doctors and other health professionals in the new member states will have the right to have their qualifications recognised, and to practice their professions throughout the EU.

What steps is the Commission taking to verify that standards of medical training in the applicant countries comply with the minimum EU standards laid down in Directive 93/16/EEC(1)?

What role in this process of verification has the Commission afforded to:

1. representatives of the practising medical profession in the EU?

2. representatives from academic medicine and medical schools in the EU?

3. representatives of Member State competent authorities?

4. the counterparts of each of the above in the applicant countries?

5. the Advisory Committee on Medical Training?

If no verification process has yet started, what plans does the Commission have to initiate such a verification process? What would be the role in this process of each of the possible stakeholders identified above?

(1) OJ L 165, 7.7.1993, p. 1.

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(27 January 2000)

The Commission would inform the Honourable Member that it is taking a number of steps to verify compliance of the candidate countries with the acquis in general, as indeed for the minimum Community standards of medical training laid down in Council Directive 93/16/EEC of 5 April 1993 to facilitate the free movement of doctors and the mutual recognition of their diplomas, certificates and other formal qualifications.

The screening process, which has taken place for all candidate countries (except Turkey) and which covered the acquis in force up to 31 December 1998, has enabled the Commission to gather information on standards of medical training in these countries. This information will be continually updated between now and accession, as the acquis develops and as candidate countries continue to prepare for membership of the Union. Regular reports are made to the Council on the position in the candidate countries, as it is the Member States which must finally decide on accessions.

In addition to the screening, the Commission considers that the necessary structures and tools are in place to ensure effective monitoring of progress and verification. Through the Europe agreement institutions, the regular reports, the accession partnerships and the national programme for the adoption of the acquis, the Commission is afforded every opportunity to verify compliance of the candidate countries with Directive 93/16/EEC, as indeed for the acquis in general.

The Honourable Member questions the role played in this process by various interests within the Community and within the acceding countries, such as the practising medical profession, representatives from academic medicine and medical schools, representatives of national authorities and the advisors committee on medical training (ACMT). Within the Community's institutional framework, it is the role of the Commission to report to the Council and for the Member States represented in the Council to ensure that their authorities and other interested parties are informed of the position as appropriate. The acceding countries are, of course, responsible for their own procedures in this process. The ACMT has, in the past, been kept informed of the general progress being made in the accession context, but without any question of duplication of the correct procedures for the conduct of the accession negotiation.

As the Honourable Member can see, the verification process has already commenced and is being carried out in the way described above.