WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3494/98 by Peter TRUSCOTT to the Council. Recognition of qualifications by Member States
Date: 1998-11-13
Institutions: European Parliament, TRUSCOTT
Subjects: code of conduct, free movement of persons, migrant worker, professional qualifications, recognition of diplomas

C 142/138

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.5.1999

The measures which the Commission is investigating are a grant on purchased land, a grant under the
4.
regional business promotion act of Land Burgenland, the commitment of Land Burgenland for further
investment aid, grants under article 51 a of the labour market promotion act, grants under article 12 (5) of
the environmental state aid act, a dormant partnership capital provided by WiBAG, training aid of Land
Burgenland and AMS investment aids proposed by Land Burgenland for an expansion of capacity and for
a transfer of facilities from another site to the site at the business park guarantees to secure grants and
loans, the price of land at the business park, possible company specific infrastructure development, and
prices for basic process utilities.

In order to calculate the aid intensity the Commission compares the present value of granted
5.
investment aid to the present value of eligible investment costs. The legal basis for the regional aid
threshold of 40 % net is the European economic area (EEA) decision on 11 May 1994 (1).

State aid granted unlawfully and not compatible with the common market must be recovered from
6.
the recipient. The amounts recovered will include interest calculated on the basis of the reference rates
used to calculate the grant-equivalent for the purposes of regional aids, running from the date on which the
aid was payable to the recipient until the date of actual recovery.

(1) OJ C 199, 21.7.1994.

(1999/C 142/180)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3494/98

by Peter Truscott (PSE) to the Council

(13 November 1998)

Subject: Recognition of qualifications by Member States

What efforts is the Council making to harmonise recognition of workers’ qualifications, between Member
States, especially in terms of the amount of proof required by the Member States to validate the migrant
workers’ qualifications?

Reply

(25 January 1999)

At the present time there is no harmonisation of the proofs required by the Member States to validate
migrant workers’ qualifications. Nevertheless, the Council would like to draw the Honourable Member’s
attention to the fact that, within the European Commission, the Coordinators’ Group on the Recognition of
Diplomas, made up of representatives of the Member States, recently adopted a Code of Conduct intended
to ensure a harmonised assessment of proofs by the coordinators responsible for facilitating the
implementation of the Directives on the recognition of professional qualifications. The aim is to avoid
administrative formalities being used as an indirect obstacle to the free movement of persons.

(1999/C 142/181)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3495/98

by Freddy Blak (PSE) to the Commission

(25 November 1998)

Subject: Amendment of the Staff Regulations

Homosexual EU staff do not have the same rights as their heterosexual colleagues. This is particularly the
case for the rights and perks that the spouses of EU staff normally enjoy, and applies even though
homosexual staff have entered into a registered partnership that corresponds to marriage in their own
country.