WRITTEN QUESTION E-1734/01

by Christine De Veyrac (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(14 June 2001)

Subject: Measures to promote mutual recognition of qualifications

On 5 October 2000 the European Parliament adopted its position at first reading on mobility within the Community for students, persons undergoing training, volunteers, teachers and trainers. It stressed the importance of improving the existing procedures to facilitate mutual recognition of diplomas and qualifications and called on the Commission to play an active role in the mutual recognition of qualifications.

On 14 December 2000 the Council and the representatives of the Member State Governments, meeting in Council, adopted a resolution concerning an action plan to promote mobility. This action plan includes provisions designed to make best use of the experience gained in the framework of mobility, particularly measures to promote mutual recognition of qualifications.

Despite the measures taken to promote mobility, I receive complaints from teachers who have been unable to have experience gained in the context of mobility recognised in their country of origin. This does not help to bring Europe closer to its citizens. It is time that citizens of the Union could rely on genuine recognition of the experience they have gained in the context of mobility.

What measures does the Commission intend to take to reinforce the measures to promote mobility and, in particular, measures to encourage a lifting of the remaining obstacles to mutual recognition of qualifications?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(24 September 2001)

The Council's Common Position (EC) No 7/2001 of 19 January 2001 on the Recommendation on mobility(1) largely incorporates the amendments which Parliament voted for at first reading. Parliament's report at second reading, of 14 May 2001, then introduced some amendments to take account of the Mobility Action Plan (MAP), which had been adopted after the first reading. The Education Council reached agreement on this report on 28 May 2001, paving the way for formal adoption of the Recommendation.

Once this has been adopted, the Commission and the Member States will have two further instruments at their disposal, the Recommendation and the Action Plan. This will help to achieve wider and more flexible mobility, including taking account of the experience gained from mobility under education, training and youth programmes, both for teachers and trainers and for the other target groups involved: students, persons undergoing training and volunteers.

These instruments call on the Member States to take the necessary measures to:

- promote consideration of European mobility experience as a component of the careers of teachers and trainers (measure I. 5 d);

- promote a European qualification area, i.e. to enable those concerned to report on the qualifications obtained and the experience acquired in the host State to the relevant authorities, particularly the academic and professional authorities in their home State (measure I.1.d, applicable to all target groups).

In the follow-up to the implementation of these measures, the Commission plans to use the means it has available, specifically the group of experts to be set up after the Recommendation has been adopted. This group of experts would be chaired by the Commission; those involved would be the people responsible at national level for coordinating the implementation of the measures contained in the two texts. The Commission plans to help them with this and to take note of the work done and progress made by the Member States, by means of the analytical report and on the basis of the Member States' biennial reports, which the Commission will submit to the institutions.

In addition, the European Council, as agreed at the Nice European Council in December 2000, will then take stock of the situation every two years.

The national authorities (administrative and judicial) are also obliged to apply Article 39 (ex Article 48) of the EC Treaty where a teacher has exercised his or her right to freedom of movement for workers.

The Court of Justice has already ruled in four cases concerning the issue of taking into account professional experience and seniority gained in public service in a Member State when entering employment in the public service of another Member State(2). Consequently, the Commission feels that the principle of equal treatment for Community workers, as set out in Article 39 of the EC Treaty and in Article 7 of Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 of the Council of 15 October 1968 on freedom of movement for workers within the Community(3), must be interpreted to mean that periods of employment in a comparable area of activity in the public sector in another Member State must be taken into account by a Member State's administration under the same conditions as experience gained in its own public sector.

The issues related to this problem, for example the correct application of the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice, are complex; they are being examined and are the subject of lengthy discussions between the Member States and the Commission. The Commission has initiated infringement proceedings against several Member States. It is also involved in the work of the Mobility Group (working group set up by the Directors-General for public administration), which deals with legal obstacles to the free movement of workers in the public sector, including problems related to recognition of professional experience and seniority. Lastly, the Commission plans to publish a Communication in 2002 on freedom of movement for workers in the public sector, which will deal with the problems related to recognition of professional experience and seniority.

(1) OJ C 70, 2.3.2001.

(2) Judgment of 23.04.94 in Case C-419/92 Scholz [1994] ECR I-0505; Judgment of 15.01.98 in Case C-15/96 Schöning [1998] ECR I-0047; Judgment of 12.03.98 in Case C-187/96 Commission v Greece [1998] ECR I-1095; Judgment of 30.11.2000 in Case C-195/98 Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund.

(3) OJ L 257, 19.10.1968.