WRITTEN QUESTION E-0512/03 by Stefano Zappalà (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Professional qualifications.
Date: 2003-02-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Italy, Spain, admission to examinations, engineer, free movement of workers, recognition of diplomas, recognition of vocational training qualifications, right of establishment

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traditional posts, with the reflector posts being fixed onto a support structure. The posts are thus raised
from the ground. The mounting system itself is not placed directly at the side of the road (cid:1) as is necessary
with traditional posts (cid:1) but further away from the road on the outer verge. The support arms on which
the reflector posts are mounted reach in to the current position of the posts. This plastic or steel
construction offers significant benefits in terms of safety (cid:1) particularly for motor cyclists (cid:1) and reduces
the general risk of accident and injury. Unlike traditional posts, the new posts do not hinder mowing and
cleaning work on the verge. The potential savings this will offer for local councils, regions and other
bodies responsible for road maintenance in terms of work and cost are considerable.

The Commission:

(cid:1) can it say whether any further harmonisation is planned in the near future in the area of road building

and transport?

(cid:1) are any efforts being made towards approximating the way in which roads are equipped in the EU

Member States?

(cid:1) can the reflector posts described above be introduced throughout Europe?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(14 March 2003)

The Commission confirms that in the coming months it will propose a directive laying down minimum
requirements for the management of road infrastructure safety by the Member States. Member States will
be required, in particular, to identify and eliminate black spots and carry out safety audits for roads in the
trans-European network.

Reflector posts have already been installed along many roads in various countries. They have a positive
effect on vehicle guidance and are particularly effective for night traffic and when there is limited visibility,
by outlining the driving lane and highlighting the course of the road.

These posts fall within the scope of Directive 89/106/EEC (1), known as the Construction Products
Directive. They require the publication by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) of a
harmonised standard which will at European level lay down the conditions and technical requirements to
be met in order to be granted CE marking. They can then benefit from free movement and free access to
the various national markets.

However, any decision to install these posts along the roads is the responsibility of the Member States or
infrastructure managers. There are currently no reasons for the general introduction of this equipment.

(1) Council Directive 89/106/EEC of 21 December 1988 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative

provisions of the Member States relating to construction products (cid:1) OJ L 40, 11.2.1989.

(2003/C 222 E/240)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0512/03

by Stefano Zappalà (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 February 2003)

Subject: Professional qualifications

Knowing that:

1.

In Italy, under the order of 23 October 2002 signed by the Director-General
Justice
(published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale, General series, No 261, 7 November 2002), as amended by the
order of the Director-General for Civil Justice dated 8 November 2002 (published in the Gazzetta
Ufficiale, General series, No 272, 20 November 2002), Mr Marco Cavallera, an Italian national who

for Civil

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graduated from the Turin Polytechnic Institute after completing a three-year course, has apparently
been recognised to hold the qualification of ‘Ingeniero Técnico Industrial, especialidad Mecánica’.

2. Mr Cavallera seems to have obtained this qualification in Spain, although he has never worked there.

3.

4.

It appears to be the case that the qualification has been recognised to be valid for entry in the Italian
Register of Engineers (Section B (cid:1) Industry) and hence to entitle its holder to practice the profession
of engineer in Italy.

If the facts described above were correct, the implication would be that, by migrating merely on paper
(cid:1) as Mr Cavallera has apparently done (cid:1) and evading the spirit and the letter of the relevant
Community directives and the provisions transposing them into national law, Italian nationals could
have their names entered in the Register of Engineers and consequently work as such in Italy without
being obliged to take the state aptitude test, even though this is provided for in Article 33 of the
Constitution.

Could the Commission ascertain whether this case actually occurred and, if so, indicate what steps it will
take?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(2 May 2003)

The Honourable Member’s question prompts the following comments:

(cid:1) As regards the recognition of professional qualifications, the profession of engineer is governed by
Directive 89/48/EEC (1). Under this directive, a Member State may not in principle refuse to allow a
Community national to take up and pursue a regulated profession when this national holds the
diploma required in his/her Member State of origin or provenance for the pursuit of that profession. It
is not clear from the order of 23 October 2002 concerning Mr Cavallera, to which the Honourable
Member refers, whether the Spanish qualification of
‘Ingeniero Técnico Industrial, especialidad
Mecànica’ was obtained by this national at the end of a training course followed in Spain or simply
on the basis of
Italian qualification in mechanical engineering. The
aforementioned directive contains rules on the recognition by a Member State of qualifications
obtained in another Member State, but not on the recognition by a Member State of decisions on
recognition taken by another Member State on the basis of qualifications obtained outside its territory.

the recognition of his

(cid:1) If Mr Cavallera completed a training course in Spain and was awarded the qualification required in
this Member State to take up the profession of engineer, he was entitled to invoke Directive 89/48/
EEC in order to have this qualification recognised by the Italian authorities and enable him to take up
the same profession in Italy, by having his name registered by the competent professional body
without having to take the State aptitude test required for this purpose by professionals who have
obtained their qualifications in Italy.

(cid:1) On the other hand, if Mr Cavallera obtained his engineering qualification in Italy and his Spanish
diploma was issued without him having completed any training in Spain and solely on the basis of
recognition by the Spanish authorities of his Italian qualifications, Mr Cavallera could not invoke
Directive 89/48/EEC in order to be exempted from the test required for entry into the register of
engineers. Directive 89/48/EEC did introduce a general system for the recognition of qualifications,
with the aim of allowing Community nationals to take up and pursue a professional activity in a
different Member State (host Member State) from that in which they obtained their qualifications
(Member State of origin). If Mr Cavallera’s situation is indeed as described above, the Member State of
origin is Italy, since the qualification was obtained in Italy and the Spanish authorities simply
recognised its equivalence with that of the Spanish ‘Ingeniero Técnico Industrial’ university degree. The
Commission considers, therefore, that a person who holds a qualification issued in the Member State
of origin and has obtained recognition of this qualification in a host Member State should not be able
to invoke Directive 89/48/EEC in returning to his/her Member State of origin and claiming different
rights from those attached to this qualification.

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(cid:1) In light of the above, if Mr Cavallera did not obtain his diploma in Spain on the basis of training
undertaken in this Member State, the Italian authorities were not obliged, under Directive 89/48/EEC,
to recognise his Spanish qualification in order to exempt him from the test required for entry into the
register of engineers. The proposal for a directive on the recognition of professional qualifications
submitted by the Commission on 7 March 2002 does not alter this analysis. On the contrary,
Community law does not prevent a Member State from applying more favourable rules based on
national law.

(1) Council Directive 89/48/EEC of 21 December 1988 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 (cid:1) OJ L 19,
24.1.1989.

(2003/C 222 E/241)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0530/03

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(18 February 2003)

Subject: Contract workers with the Greek Public Power Corporation (DEI) at Ptolemais

For a number of years, DEI at Ptolemais has employed a large number of workers through a contractor
(intermediary employer). The contractor may be the same or a different natural person over the years but
the workers are employed to do the same job, which is determined by DEI and not the contractor. As the
workers concerned perform the same job as DEI’s permanent employees, will the Commission say for what
period of time they can be described as temporary contract workers who have a lower level of labour
rights and insurance entitlements?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(20 March 2003)

The Honourable Member’s question relates to the situation of workers who for a considerable number of
years have been recruited by a recruitment agency to work in the Greek Public Power Corporation (DEI),
doing work that is the same as that done by the corporation’s permanent staff but without having the
same protection or rights.

The Commission must point out that it cannot comment on a matter which must be examined in line
with national law.

However, it may be useful to mention two types of Community provisions which could be relevant to the
situation above. One is clause 5 of Council Directive 1999/70/EC of 28 June 1999 concerning the
framework agreement on fixed-term work concluded by ETUC, UNICE and CEEP (1), which provides that
Member States must take the necessary measures to prevent abuse arising from the use of successive fixed-
term employment contracts or relationships. The second is the Commission proposal for a Directive of
temporary workers (2) and the amended proposal of
20 March 2002 on working conditions for
28 November 2002 (3). Article 5 of these texts sets out the fundamental principle of equal treatment of
temporary workers and workers in the user undertaking. In the amended version of the proposal, this
principle is defined as follows: ‘The basic working and employment conditions of temporary workers shall
be, for the duration of their posting at a user undertaking, at least those that would apply if they had been
recruited directly by that enterprise to occupy the same job’. This text has already been approved by
Parliament at first reading (opinion of 21 November 2002) and is currently being discussed by the
Council.

(1) OJ L 175, 10.7.1999.
(2) OJ C 203 E, 27.8.2002.
(3) COM(2002) 701 final.