WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2813/97 by Eryl McNALLY to the Commission. Chiropractic profession in Spain
Date: 1997-09-01
Institutions: European Parliament, MCNALLY
Subjects: Spain, administrative sanction, paramedical profession, practitioner of alternative medicine, professional qualifications, recognition of diplomas, right of establishment, vocational training

16. 4. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 117/69

Where the growth of air travel is concerned, the Commission is seeking to promote intermodality so that the most
appropriate  mode  of  transport  is  used  in  each  segment  of  a  passenger  or  freight  journey.  It  is,  for  example,
fostering the development of the connection of large airports to rail networks, including high speed rail which
offers a means of enabling rail to compete more effectively with short and medium haul air services.

In  the  context  of  the  existing  legal  framework  and  the  eligibility  criteria  of  cohesion  instruments,  priority  in
selecting projects to be co-financed is given to projects that contain integrative, intermodal features while at the
same time fulfilling the employment and development objectives of regional and structural policies.

In all activities, the Commission is conscious that improvements in the quality and use of infrastructure and in
logistics  organisation  can  produce  significant  cost  savings,  reductions  in  environmental  pressures,  and  extra
employment. In the use of resources and in policy and legal initiatives we therefore work consistently for those
advances.

(1)  Doc. COM(95) 601 final.

(98/C 117/88)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2813/97

by Eryl McNally (PSE) to the Commission

(1 September 1997)

Subject: Chiropractic profession in Spain

The case of Penny Teshak DC was recently brought to my attention following her recent sentence of 6 months
imprisonment in Spain. She qualified as a chiropractor in the USA and subsequently set up her own practice in
Spain. Due to the fact that she has qualifications from outside the EU, she stands accused of practising without a
licence.

Can  the  Commission  explain  why  a  qualified  professional  who  is  supported  by  the  Spanish  Chiropractors
Association faces such an unjust sentence?

Does the Commission propose any action on a European level to curb such an outrageous court ruling?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(17 October 1997)

On the general question of pursuing the profession of chiropractor in the Member States, the Commission would
refer  the  Honourable  Member  to  its  answers  to  Written  Questions  E-2139/95  by  Mrs  Muscardini (1)  and
E-1706/95 by Mrs Banotti (2).

With regard to the specific case mentioned by the Honourable Member, it appears, from the information given in
the  question,  that  the  person  concerned  started  practising  without  obtaining  the  necessary  authorisation,  thus
laying herself open to the charge of illegal practice and to the consequent penalties under the law of the host
Member State.

The  Commission  therefore  does  not  intend  to  intervene  in  this  case,  which  does  not  fall  within  its  sphere  of
responsibility.

(1)  OJ C 326, 6.12.1995.
(2)  OJ C 311, 22.11.1995.