WRITTEN QUESTION E-2605/03 by Elizabeth Lynne (ELDR) to the Commission. Recognition of qualifications for language teachers.
Date: 2003-08-28
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: France, United Kingdom, administrative competition, case-law (EU), free movement of workers, language teaching, recognition of diplomas, recognition of vocational training qualifications

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/133

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(18 September 2003)

The Commission is greatly concerned as to the scale of damage that is being caused by the ongoing
drought in Italy. It sympathises with all the affected persons, including the regions referred of Piedmont,
Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Veneto.

The Honourable Member is referred to her Written Question P-2591/03 (1). The response to this question
explains in detail issues of eligibility and the necessary information that the national authorities must
provide to the Commission when making an application for support from the Solidarity Fund.

(1) See page 131.

(2004/C 78 E/0135)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2605/03

by Elizabeth Lynne (ELDR) to the Commission

Subject: Recognition of qualifications for language teachers

(28 August 2003)

Is the Commission aware that a British teacher of English having all adequate qualifications and teaching
experience in the United Kingdom is required to pass the CAPES exam (Certificat d’aptitude pédagogique à
l’enseignement du second degré, a very difficult exam, particularly for a foreigner) in order to be able to
have a full-time teacher position in the French education system?

Would this not be in contravention of Council Directive 89/48/EEC (1) of 21 December 1988 on a general
system for the recognition of higher education diplomas awarded on completion of professional education
and training?

Is the proposed Directive on recognition of professional qualifications (2) going to eliminate this anomaly,
particularly since French teachers are able to teach in the United Kingdom without such an additional
examination?

(1) OJ L 19, 24.1.1989, p. 16.
(2) COM(2002) 119 final.

Supplementary answer
given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(9 January 2004)

The Commission has carried out an analysis of the consequences of the Court of Justice’s judgment of
9 September 2003 in Case C-285/01 ‘Isabel Burbaud’ as to the recruitment in the French public service of
fully qualified teachers from other Member States. The judgment concerns hospital managers. In France,
hospital managers in the public service are subject to a recruitment competition which gives access to a
period of training at the ‘École nationale de la santé publique’ before candidates are permanently appointed
to a post. The Court has held that it is contrary to Community law that fully qualified hospital managers
from other Member States sit a competition like the one referred to in the judgment. The Court observed
that
take account of specific
qualifications in the field of hospital management obtained by candidates who are nationals of other
Member States, place those nationals at a disadvantage and are liable to dissuade them from exercising
their rights, as workers, to freedom of movement.

this method of recruitment, which does not

the specific features of

The Commission considers that,
in principle, this case-law may extend to teachers, as they are also
recruited in the French public service by means of a competition which gives access to a period of training
at the ‘Instituts Universitaires de Formation des Maîtres’.

C 78 E/134

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

It is important to note that the Court has not ruled out the possibility to require properly qualified
candidates from other Member States to sit a competition for recruitment in the public service. The Court
has held that this requirement does not infringe Directive 89/48/EEC, since the Directive does not concern
the choice of selection and recruitment procedures for filling positions and cannot be relied on as the basis
for a right to be recruited. The Court has however excluded that properly qualified migrants can be
required to pass a competition for admission to a course of training. Consequently, the Commission
considers that France will have to amend its recruitment system as regards qualified teachers from other
Member States. The Commission will contact the French authorities with a view to ensuring that France
complies with the Court’s jurisprudence.

The proposal for a new directive on the recognition of professional qualifications does not contain any
provision regarding this matter.

(2004/C 78 E/0136)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2606/03

by Armin Laschet (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(14 August 2003)

Subject: Discontinuation of the infringement proceedings against the Federal Republic of Germany in

connection with the Avantis cross-border business park

The 1997 and 2002 infringement proceedings against the Federal Republic of Germany in connection with
the breach of the EU’s flora, fauna and habitat (FFH) directive on the conservation of natural habitats and
wild fauna and flora, and in this particular instance the field hamster, through the construction of the
Avantis cross-border business park in Aachen-Heerlen have been discontinued.

On what grounds did the European Commission halt the proceedings?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(12 September 2003)

to an
The transboundary industrial area ‘Avantis’ near Aachen (DE) and Heerlen (NL) was subject
infringement procedure against Germany. The project was authorised in 1998 and has been implemented
in part. As a consequence, breeding sites of the Common Hamster, Cricetus cricetus, a species subject to
the protection regime under Article 12 of the Habitats Directive (1), have been destroyed.

Under Article 16 of the Habitats Directive, the destruction of breeding sites of the Hamster may only be
authorised if there is no satisfactory alternative and the derogation is not detrimental to the maintenance
of the populations of the species concerned at a favourable conservation status in their natural range.
Additionally, such a derogation is only possible for specific reasons listed in the Directive, inter alia for
imperative reasons of overriding public interest, including those of a social or economic nature (Article 16
(1) (c)).

The German Government and the Commission do not agree whether all the conditions for a derogation
under Article 16 of the Habitats Directive were fulfilled when the project was authorised.

However, Germany informed the Commission about compensation measures undertaken by the city of
Aachen in the vicinity of the affected area and about a five-year Species Protection Plan for the Hamster in
the region of North-Rhine Westfalia. The plan includes management agreements with farmers to improve
the ecological quality of agricultural land for the enhancement of the hamster populations. The total cost
of the programme is EUR 1,28 million (225 000 EUR/year). The agricultural area under Hamster-friendly
management will be extended by some 200 hectares (ha) per year. Annual compensation payments for
farmers will be around 1 000 EUR/ha. Community funding under the rural development programmes will
be requested. In addition to this programme, the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia will participate in a