WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1021/98 by Angela BILLINGHAM to the Commission. Recognition of qualifications
Date: 1998-03-26
Institutions: BILLINGHAM, European Parliament
Subjects: Greece, United Kingdom, equivalence of diplomas, freedom to provide services, hairdressing and beauty care, mutual recognition principle, right of establishment













EUR-Lex - 91998E1021 - EN






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91998E1021

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1021/98 by Angela BILLINGHAM to the Commission. Recognition of qualifications  


Official Journal C 402 , 22/12/1998 P. 0059 





WRITTEN QUESTION P-1021/98by Angela Billingham (PSE) to the Commission(26 March 1998)Subject: Recognition of qualificationsThe Greek authorities are refusing to recognize or register qualifications which a British citizen attained from the International Therapy Examination Council in Britain. Although these diplomas and certificates qualify her to set up her own business to work as a beautician in Britain, the Greek authorities are refusing to recognize them.Could the European Commission investigate whether this is against the freedom to provide services, one of the basic principles of the Single Market?Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission(8 May 1998)In the case of beauticians, reference must be made to Council Directive 75/368/EEC of 16 June 1975 on measures to facilitate the effective exercise of freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services in respect of various activities and transitional measures in respect of those activities.(1) This Directive stipulates that, where the taking-up or pursuit in a Member State of any activity covered by the Directive is subject to possession of general, commercial or professional knowledge and ability, that Member State must accept as sufficient evidence of such knowledge and ability the fact that the activity in question has been pursued in another Member State for at least three years.Where diplomas are concerned, obligations to recognise them derive directly from the EC Treaty. The Court of Justice, in its judgments in the Heylens (222/86 of 15 October 1987) and Vlassopoulou (C-340/89 of 7 May 1991) cases, stressed that the host Member State cannot, without disregarding an obligation which has its source in the EC Treaty itself and in particular in Articles 5, 48, 52 and 59, refuse to take account of knowledge and qualifications acquired by a Community national in another Member State. The host Member State therefore has to establish a procedure for comparing the qualifications it requires with those acquired by the person concerned in another Member State. This procedure must also be capable of ensuring that, where the qualifications acquired in another Member State are equivalent, the host Member State recognises the foreign diploma attesting these qualifications as it stands. If, at the end of such an assessment, qualifications considered necessary to the pursuit of the profession in question are found to be lacking, the host Member State is entitled to require the person concerned to prove that he has acquired the knowledge and qualifications which are lacking, but it must accept the part of the training which is equivalent. It must also, once the gaps have been objectively established, offer the migrant the possibility of filling them by means of additional training.The Commission is willing to examine the details of any individual cases which the Honourable Member might provide.(1) OJ L 167, 30.6.1975.