WRITTEN QUESTION E-0529/98

by Ludivina García Arias (PSE) to the Commission

(2 March 1998)

Subject: Delays by Spain in validating university diplomas gained in other Member States

The Spanish press repeatedly features reports concerning complaints by European citizens who have waited more than one year for university diplomas gained in other Member States to be validated. Is the Commission aware of these delays? Has the Commission asked Spain for information on the number of cases which have exceeded the time limit acceptable under Community rules?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(3 June 1998)

Under Article 126 of the EC Treaty, the Member States are fully responsible for the content of teaching and the organisation of education systems. There are no Community provisions introducing a system of automatic equivalence between qualifications: recognition of foreign qualifications is governed either by national law or by international agreements signed by the Member State in question.

Spain operates a procedure called "homologación", whereby diplomas obtained in other (Community or non-Community) countries can be recognised as equivalent to the corresponding Spanish diploma. The procedure is governed by Spanish law, and the Commission has no powers to intervene. If the competent authority (the Spanish Education Ministry) fails to comply with the deadline laid down in the relevant legislation, the applicant may, in any event, seek redress from the competent Spanish administrative or judicial bodies.

The question, as formulated by the Honourable Member, appears to refer to delays in this procedure for recognising the equivalence of qualifications, which must be distinguished from procedures for the professional recognition of qualifications. The recognition by Member States, for the purpose of allowing access to a profession which they regulate, of qualifications obtained in another Member State is governed by mandatory Community rules. The main legal instrument adopted in this area is Directive 89/48/EEC 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.(1) Recognition granted under this Directive constitutes an authorisation to take up or pursue a specific profession but does not mean that the diploma is recognised as equivalent to a national diploma for other purposes.

The Directive provides that the competent authority of the host Member State has a period of four months, once the applicant has presented all the relevant documents, in which to take a decision. It also requires Member States to report to the Commission every two years on the application of the system. This procedure for the professional recognition of qualifications is different from, and operates independently of, the "homologación" procedure. A Community national who possesses a diploma granting him or her access to a given profession in a Member State and who wishes to take up or pursue the same profession in Spain is entitled to recognition in accordance with the Directive and the Spanish legislation transposing it and does not need, for that purpose, to obtain recognition of the equivalence of his or her diploma under the "homologación" procedure.

Directive 89/48/EEC was transposed into Spanish law by Royal Decree 1665/1991 of 25 October 1991,(2) and several ministerial implementing regulations have been adopted for the different professions covered by the Royal Decree. Under these rules, a decision has to be taken within a period of four months; the absence of any reply within that period is to be construed as an implicit rejection of the application and entitles the applicant to appeal through the appropriate procedures. The competent authority for examining applications for professional recognition varies from one ministry to another, depending on the profession that the applicant wishes to pursue. Spain's report on the application of the Directive during the period 1993-1994 states that the ministerial departments which were swiftest in processing requests for recognition were those which already had some experience in the matter (education and health). The Spanish authorities also indicate that other departments were somewhat slow in dealing with the first few applications; however, they speeded up as they gained experience in taking decisions.

The Commission has not received any complaints and does not have any other evidence suggesting that the Spanish administration is failing to comply with the four-month deadline laid down by its own legislation in compliance with the Directive. If it were to come to light that the Spanish authorities were not properly applying the Directive and the national implementing provisions, the Commission would, as it has done in the case of other Member States, take the action provided for by the Treaty.

(1) OJ L 19, 24.1.1989, p. 16.

(2) BOE (Spanish Official Gazette) No 280, 22.11.1991.