Commission staff working document - Progress by Member States in reviewing and eliminating restrictions to Competition in the area of Professional Services {COM(2005) 405 final}
Date: 2005-09-05
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: competition, competition law, liberal profession, professional association, provision of services, services of general interest

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 5.9.2005 
SEC(2005) 1064 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Progress by Member States in reviewing and eliminating restrictions to Competition in 
the area of Professional Services 

{COM(2005) 405 final} 

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Table of Contents 

1. 

Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 3 

2.  Economic analysis: better defining the public interest....................................................... 3 

2.1 

2.2 

2.3 

2.4 

2.5 

The characteristics and needs of business users........................................................... 4 

The characteristics and needs of households ............................................................... 4 

The characteristics and needs of the public sector ....................................................... 5 

Evidence from available data ....................................................................................... 6 

Key finding of analysis ................................................................................................ 7 

3.  Activities in 2004/05 by the Commission and national competition authorities ............... 7 

3.1 

3.2 

Commission activities .................................................................................................. 7 

National competition authorities activities................................................................... 8 

4.  Progress by national regulators and professional bodies to reform ................................. 10 

4.1 

4.2 

4.3 

4.4 

4.5 

Entry restrictions and reserved tasks.......................................................................... 10 

Business structure regulation ..................................................................................... 16 

Fixed prices ................................................................................................................ 18 

Recommended prices ................................................................................................. 20 

Advertising restrictions .............................................................................................. 21 

5.  Enforcement by the Commission, national competition authorities and national courts. 22 

6.  Conclusions ...................................................................................................................... 24 

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1. 

1. 

2. 

2. 

3. 

1 

2 

3 

INTRODUCTION 

The  Commission  Report  on  Competition  in  the  Professions  published  in  February 
20041 (hereafter referred to as the ‘2004 Report’) targeted six professions - lawyers, 
notaries,  engineers,  architects,  pharmacists  and  accountancy  (including 
the 
neighbouring profession of tax advisers). This Report provides a detailed outline of 
progress  made  during  2004/05  by  Member  States  in  the  review  and  removal  of 
“unjustified restrictions”2 on competition in these six professions. Section 2 deepens 
the  economic  analysis  of  the  Commission’s  2004  Report.  Section  3  explains  the 
activities  carried  out  by  the  Commission  and  national  competition  authorities. 
Section 4 examines the progress made in eliminating, or reviewing unjustified3 rules 
and  regulations,  in  the  five  main  categories  of  restriction  featured  in  the 
Commission’s 2004 Report (i) fixed prices, (ii) recommended prices, (iii) advertising 
regulations,  (iv)  entry  requirements  and  reserved  rights,  and  (v)  regulations 
governing business structure and multi-disciplinary practices. Section 5 relates recent 
cases carried out by the Commission and within the European Competition Network. 

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: BETTER DEFINING THE PUBLIC INTEREST 

The Commission concentrated on a limited number of professions in the 2004 Report 
and its analysis considered the markets for each of these professions as a whole with 
no  attempt  to  differentiate  the  different  types  of  markets  and  actors  involved. 
Following  further  reflection  and  discussion  with  professionals,  users  and  Member 
States  (competition  and  regulatory  authorities),  the  Commission  has  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  would  be  useful  to  refine  and  deepen  this  analysis  and,  in 
particular,  give  further  consideration  to  what  is  meant  by  the  public  interest  in 
different  markets.  This  would  facilitate  a  better  understanding  of  the  interplay 
between supply and demand for each professional service under consideration. This 
section does this by identifying in general terms the different groups who are buying 
or  using  professional  services,  and  then  considering  more  precisely  how  existing 
regulatory practice impacts on these groups. 

In  general,  the  users  of  professional  services  can  be  categorised  into  three  broad 
groups or headings: (i) business, (ii) the public sector, and (iii) households. Of these, 
some  professional  services  will  be  required  only  by  business  and  the  public  sector 
(e.g. most engineering services), and others only by private households (e.g. services 

The Report is available at: 
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/competition/liberal_professions/final_communication_en.pdf 
In  the  2004  Report,  the  Commission  suggested  that  a  proportionality  test  should  be  used  to  assess  to 
what extent anti-competitive professional regulations and rules truly serve the public interest and can be 
objectively justified. The 2004 Report suggested that for this purpose it would be useful that each rule 
had  an  explicitly  stated  objective  and  an  explanation  of  how  the  chosen  regulatory  measure  was  the 
least  restrictive  mechanism  to  effectively  attain  the  stated  objective.  The  Commission  invited  all  to 
work in partnership – regulatory authorities in the Member States and professional bodies - to review 
existing rules taking into consideration whether those rules are necessary for the public interest, whether 
they are proportionate and whether they are justified. For the purpose of this Report, those restrictions 
that  do  not  meet  the  proportionality  test,  as  suggested  in  the  2004  Report,  are  called  ‘unjustified’  or 
‘disproportionate’. 
As defined in footnote 2 above. 

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supplied  by  pharmacists).  In  many  other  cases  the  same  service  is  required  by  all 
users,  but  with  differing  levels  of  complexity  (e.g.  real  estate  and  tax  consultancy 
services). 

2.1. 

The characteristics and needs of business users 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Big business normally requires a service that is tailored to their needs. This requires 
flexibility and personalised attention by service providers. Usually contracts are large 
and complex and negotiation covers not only price, but also quality and service level. 
Fixed prices or fee scales are therefore often less important. 

It  is  less  clear  how  small  business  fits  into  this  picture  and  whether  it  is  more 
comparable to big business or private household users. On the one hand, while small 
businesses might not have enough internal expertise to be considered ‘expert’ users, 
they  are  nonetheless  repeat  users  of  professional  services  and  should  be  able  to 
reduce  the  information  asymmetry.  On  the  other  hand,  they  do  not  have  the 
negotiating power of big business. Further economic analysis is needed to consider in 
more detail the needs of small business. 

This leads to the broad conclusion that the issues to be considered in analysing the 
public  interest in  terms of  business users may  not  so  much  be  linked  to  the  typical 
argument  of  asymmetry  of  information,  but  rather  to  ‘flexibility’  or  ‘innovation’ 
arguments.  Business  users  want  flexibility.  This  may  include  outsourcing,  or 
undertaking in-house, certain categories of activities, and also being able to choose 
and  mix  service  providers.  There  is  also  a  demand  for  more  tailored  services,  and 
given the possibility, professionals would also likely find innovative ways of meeting 
their  needs.  To  make  this  possible  certain  regulatory  restrictions  may  need  to  be 
removed. It may also call for controls to maintain independence and avoid conflicts 
of  interest;  such  conflicts  could  occur  when  the  same  professional  is  providing 
services which should be independent of each other (e.g. accountancy and audit). 

2.2. 

The characteristics and needs of households 

7. 

8. 

9. 

4 

As  a  generalisation,  households  are  considered  as  not  requiring  services  in  a 
continuous manner and can be characterised as one-off customers. One-off customers 
are primarily hindered by a lack of information. They may indeed have difficulty in 
finding a good practitioner and assessing their quality. Consequently, to some extent 
it  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  asymmetry  of  information  will  always  remain  a 
problem for this kind of customer. 

In trying to understand the view and needs of consumers, the Commission has started 
to talk to consumer associations specifically about the professional services sector. It 
has also had access to surveys carried out by consumer organisations across Europe4 
on the professions. 

From  these  contacts,  it  is  clear  that  there  is  an  asymmetry  of  information  which 
makes it difficult for the consumer to choose a professional. This is often due to their 
not  having  the  expertise,  or  access  to  information,  to  be  able  to  gauge  ex  ante  the 

These covered the legal profession in Scotland; lawyers in Italy and Belgium; notaries in Italy, Belgium 
and Spain; pharmacies in Spain, Scotland and Germany; estate agents in Scotland and Belgium. 

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10. 

11. 

12. 

competency, experience and level of professionalism of a practitioner. This difficulty 
is exacerbated by prohibitions or undue restrictions on advertising by professionals. 

Consumers  are  also  particularly  eager  to  get  information  on  the  costs  of  a 
professional service ex ante - at the moment of giving the mandate - and lament the 
lack of its availability. In some cases customers would like to know the exact cost of 
a service in advance. This is often the rationale given for using fixed prices, which it 
is argued allow ‘consumers to know in advance how much they will have to pay’. 

A  problem  which  particularly  worries  consumers  is  the  accountability  of  the 
professional  and  the  procedure  in  case  of  conflict.  This  problem  is  complicated  by 
the  fact  that  a  professional  has  an  obligation  as  to  the  means  employed,  not  an 
obligation as to the result achieved. In this area consumer organisations believe that 
compulsory professional insurance should be viewed positively from the perspective 
of  helping  to  protect  both  the  professional  and  the  consumer.  They  also  regard 
qualitative entry controls as a way of safeguarding quality and professionalism. 

In all of these scenarios, the key challenge seems to be finding ways to address the 
existing  or  perceived  information  gap  between  the  professional  and  the  consumer, 
irrespective of the current regulatory framework. Consumers want more information 
in  order  to  be  able  to  make  informed  choices.  This  means  finding  new  and  better 
ways  to  give  them  more  information  about  services  on  offer  and  looking  afresh  at 
regulatory frameworks to see how this can be achieved.  

13. 

Other  considerations  raised  in  the  consumer  surveys  relate  to  the  need  to  ensure 
greater accessibility to professional services by the whole population. This argument 
is brought up particularly concerning access to legal advice and representation. 

2.3. 

The characteristics and needs of the public sector 

14. 

15. 

16. 

Finally, there is the public sector. For the technical professions (e.g. architectural and 
engineering services) the public sector is often the main user. In general, the public 
sector  buys  services  via  public  tenders.  A  provider  is  usually  chosen  under  strictly 
defined  procedures  and  is  then  paid  by  the  public  purse.  To  ensure  proper 
accountability  to  the  tax  payer,  the  procedures  are  consequently  more  cumbersome 
than those used in the private sector. 

The public sector in many countries favours the existence of fixed or recommended 
tariffs whether by law or as internal reference points. For example in some Member 
States, recommended architectural tariffs still exist only for public works. It is also 
true that the move towards market oriented mechanisms for provider selection in the 
public  sector  is  relatively  recent  in  some  countries.  It  seems  that  a  change  of 
approach to public administration in general would be necessary to bring about the 
removal of much of the existing restrictive regulation. 

That said it is doubtful whether the public sector as a buyer needs a different method 
of assessing the public interest than that carried out for other users. In a context of 
competitive  bidding  for  a  public  tender,  the  public  sector  could  be  considered  as  a 
repeat, informed customer, much the same as a business customer. 

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2.4. 

Evidence from available data 

2.4.1.  By type of client: Business, public sector and private households 

The  following  pulls  together  disparate  data  from  European  and  national  sources  to 
show the level of use of business services by business, the public sector and private 
households.  Table  1  gives  an  overview  of 
the 
accountancy/audit,  business  and  management  consultancy  sector,  and  (ii)  technical 
service sector. It shows clearly that the largest users in economic terms of business 
services in both sectors are business users. 

these  statistics 

for 

(i) 

17. 

Table 1 

Accountants  and 
related activities 

AArrcchhiitteeccttss  
rreellaatteedd  aaccttiivviittiieess 

aanndd  

BBuussiinneessss 

PPuubblliicc  sseeccttoorr  

8866%% 

66%%  

PPrriivvaattee  hhoouusseehhoollddss   88%%  

7722%% 

1155%%  

1133%%  

Source: Eurostat, architectural and engineering activities and related technical consultancy, Pekka Alajääskö and 
Owen Blackburn, Statistics in Focus 11/2004, and accounting, book-keeping, auditing activities, tax consultancy 
and business and management consultancy, Pekka Alajääskö, Statistics in Focus 24/2004. 

18. 

In the legal sector too the majority of turnover of law firms is shown as coming from 
business.  For  example,  a  study  by  the  Law  Society5  of  England  and  Wales  reports 
that in a sample of 585 solicitors firms, 37% of gross fee income in 2001 was from 
private individuals, and 42% from the private sector and public sector organisations. 
A study carried out by INDECON6 for the competition authority in Ireland in 2003 
reports  similar  findings.  It  finds  that  the  average  percentage  of  fee  income  from 
business clients for solicitors is 33%. In the case of barristers just under half of the 
fee income comes from business clients, while for professional engineers the figure 
is 79% and for architects it is 66.7%. 

19. 

Professional associations also estimate that their members work mainly for business 
or the public sector rather than one-off users7. 

2.4.2.  By frequency of demand: Repeat vs. one-off consumers 

20. 

5 
6 

7 

The  INDECON  report  also  has  useful  information  on  the  frequency  of  use  of 
professional services by customers. In the report business customers are represented 
through a survey of insurance companies and private households by a random sample 
of members of the public. It too shows that business customers are by far the most 

Law Society, Findings from the Law Society’s 2001 Business Survey, (2002). 
INDECON  (2003)  INDECON’s  Assessment  of  Restrictions  on  the  Supply  of  Professional  Services, 
prepared for the Competition Authority, Dublin, March 2003. 
The Architects Council of Europe estimates that their members work 40% for businesses, 40% for the 
public sector and 20% for private households. Engineers estimate that they work equally for the public 
and the private sector (but not for private households). German tax advisors estimated their clients to be 
75% business and 25% household. 

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frequent users. In the case of solicitors, 51% of private households had not used one 
in  the  previous  five  years8  and  a  further  33%  not  more  than  five  times  over  that 
period,  whereas  for  insurance  companies  the  corresponding  figures  were  7.7%  and 
zero.  69.2%  of  insurance  companies  had  used  solicitors  more  than  twenty  times  in 
the  previous  year.  In  the  case  of  barristers  98%  of  the  private  households  sampled 
had used a barrister less than five times in the previous five years, whilst 54% of the 
insurance companies had used a barrister more than twenty times per year. A study 
used  by  the  Italian  Antitrust  Authority  confirms  these  findings  in  the  case  of  legal 
services9:  when  individual  citizens  consult  a  lawyer,  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases 
(75%) it is a one-off consultation, while business customers tend to consult lawyers 
on a continuous basis (68% of cases). 

2.5. 

Key finding of analysis 

21. 

A further differentiation of the markets of professional services would allow a better 
identification  of  the  public  interest  involved  and  of  the  degree  of  regulation 
indispensable to protect this. This can be arrived at by assessing what is needed for 
the different types of customer or user. The above analysis shows that one-off users – 
generally  individual  customers  and  households  -  may  have  a  greater  need  of  some 
carefully targeted protection (e.g. price regulation may be needed for the lower paid 
to ensure proper access to legal advice and representation in certain areas of law). On 
the other hand, the main users of business services – business and the public sector – 
may have no, or little, need given that they are better equipped to choose providers 
that best suit their needs. The position of small business users is however not entirely 
clear and further economic analysis is needed to arrive at a conclusion on this. 

3. 

ACTIVITIES  IN  2004/05  BY  THE  COMMISSION  AND  NATIONAL  COMPETITION 
AUTHORITIES 

3.1. 

Commission activities 

22. 

During  2004/05  the  Commission  invited  the  European  professional  bodies  of 
lawyers, notaries, accountants, tax advisers, architects, engineers and pharmacists to 
bilateral  meetings  to  discuss  the  justification  of  existing  professional  rules  and 
explore what can be done to make them less restrictive of competition. The level of 
receptiveness  to  reform  varied  between  the  professional  bodies  depending  on  how 
open and de-regulated the profession already was; some could see the benefits while 
others  saw  reform  as  a  threat  rather  than  an  opportunity.  Professional  bodies 
representing  the  legal,  notarial  and  pharmacy  professions  particularly  had  little 
appetite for change. 

23. 

The  Commission  started  to  establish  a  structured  dialogue  with  national  regulatory 
authorities,  especially  in  countries  where  the  professions  are  heavily  regulated.  A 
start  was  made  on  the  occasion  of  the  European  Competition  Network  Sub-Group 

8 

9 

This contrasts with a Law Society survey of the public in England & Wales published in 1989 which 
reported that only 32% of the adult population had consulted a solicitor in the previous 3 years. 
LA  REGOLAMENTAZIONE  DEI  SERVIZI  PROFESSIONALI  ASPETTI  SETTORIALI,  Autorità 
Garante della concorrenza e dei mercati. 

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meeting  on  14  October  2004,  which  brought  together  representatives  of  national 
competition and regulatory authorities. 

24. 

The Commission also held bilateral meetings with the regulatory authorities in some 
Member  States  (Austria,  Germany,  Hungary,  Italy,  Poland,  Portugal  and  Spain). 
These  meetings  have  provided  an  excellent  opportunity  to  discuss  specific  national 
circumstances and explore possible ways to bring about change, as well as share best 
practice. 

3.2. 

National competition authorities activities 

25. 

26. 

27. 

10 

11 

National competition authorities have been active and a step change has been seen in 
their activity with the majority reporting being engaged in work in this field during 
2004/0510.  Competition  authorities  in  Denmark,  Ireland,  Netherlands  and  the  UK 
have well established work programmes in this sector - Denmark as part of a wider 
governmental  regulatory  reform  programme.  Authorities  in  Belgium,  Estonia, 
Hungary, Poland and Slovenia have also initiated structured work to bring reform to 
the professions.  

A  range  of  work  has  been  undertaken,  including  bilateral  discussions  with  national 
regulatory  authorities  and  professional  bodies,  and  the  issuing  of  opinions  on  draft 
legislation,  which  contain  provisions  likely  to  be  restrictive  of  competition. 
Competition  authorities  have  also  carried  out  stocktaking  exercises  and  sector 
studies.  The  latter  include  studies  carried  out  by  the  Danish,  Irish  and  UK 
competition authorities covering a range of different professions, including the legal 
profession, engineers, pharmacists and architects11. The Polish competition authority 
produced  a  report  aimed  at  highlighting  factors  that  impede  the  development  of 
competition in a number of professions. The Portuguese authority has undertaken a 
detailed study of the notary’s profession since its privatisation in 2004 to identify any 
factors restricting competition and is currently in the process of producing a report to 
the  government  with  proposals  to  remove  or  amend  the  restrictions  identified.  The 
Netherlands  has  concluded  a  detailed  stocktaking  exercise  on  rules  adopted  by  the 
professional  bodies  of  lawyers,  notaries,  accountants  and  architects,  and  is  now 
consulting  on 
is  also  undertaking  a 
stocktaking/investigation  into  rules  existing  in  a  range  of  professions,  including 
lawyers  and  notaries,  and  the  Czech  Republic  reports  having  undertaken  a 
stocktaking  exercise  of  rules  in  six  professions  and  consulting  a  range  of  national 
regulatory authorities.  

its  findings.  The  Belgium  authority 

Cyprus reports having informal bilateral discussions with regulatory authorities, and 
Greece have been in contact bilaterally with the professional bodies, and the national 
regulatory  authority,  with  responsibility  for  the  legal  and  notarial  professions. 
Germany,  Italy  and  Hungary  have  met  with  various  regulatory  authorities  and 
professional bodies to draw their attention to restrictive rules and laws and promote 
change. Following discussions, Italy has been successful in getting the professional 

Information on advocacy and enforcement activity by national competition authorities was collected via 
questionnaires. Responses have not yet been received from all national competition authorities and this 
may mean that the information presented is incomplete in some cases and does not reflect all relevant 
activity. 
Other professions such as dentists and real estate agents have also been targeted. 

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bodies for architects and notaries to review their rules on advertising. Finland wrote 
to a range of actors to flag the findings of the Commission’s 2004 Report and seek 
views. Belgium has reviewed certain ethical rules issued by the accountancy and tax 
advisers’ professional body for compliance with competition law. 

Examples of analytical studies in the sector of professional services 

Polish study12 

In  the  wake  of  the  Commission’s  2004  Report,  the  Polish  competition  authority  undertook  a  detailed  study  into 
restrictions  existing  in  five  professions  -  barristers  (advocates),  legal  advisers,  notaries,  pharmacists  and  tax 
advisers.  The  study  gives  a  useful  insight  into  the  structure  and  regulation  of  the  professions  in  Poland.  Its 
objective  was  to  highlight  the  factors  that  hinder  the  development  of  competition  in  the  sector.  The  overall 
conclusion was that the regulation of the professions in Poland was excessively restrictive, especially in the field 
of  legal  services.  Practices  found  included  barriers  to  entry,  price  fixing  or  recommended  pricing,  advertising 
prohibitions  and  business  structure  restrictions.  The  study  concluded  that  many  of  these  were  often 
disproportionate, unjustified and unnecessary to protect the public interest. The study was published in May 2004. 
Consideration is currently being given to extending the study to include other professions covering the real estate 
sector, dentists and others yet to be decided. 

Irish study on the legal profession13 

The  Irish  competition  authority  published  its  preliminary  report  on  competition  issues  associated  with  legal 
services in Ireland on 24 February 2005. The report finds that the legal profession is permeated with “unjustified 
and  disproportionate  restrictions  on  competition”.  It  analyses  these  restrictions  and  examines  whether  they  are 
necessary,  consistent  and  proportionate  with  the  public  interest  objectives  claimed.  The  transparency  and 
accountability of the regulatory system that applies to the legal profession is also examined. The study proposes 
significant  reform  to  the  regulation  of  legal  services  and  makes  over  forty  proposals  to  remove  or  amend  the 
restrictions identified.  

28. 

29. 

30. 

National  competition  authorities  have  also  pre-empted  the  adoption  of  new  anti-
competitive legislation in this sector. Lithuania  intervened on an amendment  to the 
pharmaceutical law to flag concerns about anti-competitive provisions on ownership, 
advertising and entry. It has also made a proposal to the government to abolish fixed 
minimum  prices  for  notaries.  Hungary  has  likewise  submitted  a  proposal  to  amend 
the  Notaries  Act,  proposing  that  the  scope  of  reserved  tasks  and  the  use  of  fixed 
tariffs be reviewed. Latvia reports intervening on amendments to the Notary Law to 
object to the use of fixed fees. 

This  work  has  resulted  both  in  change  to  remove  anti-competitive  restrictions  and 
been  a  key  factor  in  the  setting  up  of  government  sponsored  committees  -  for 
example  in  Denmark  and  the  UK  on  the  legal  professions  -  to  consider  in  detail 
recommendations made and bring forward proposals for more radical change.  

Also, of note was the Luxembourg Presidency European Competition Day on 3 May 
2005.  This  was  dedicated  to  the  topic  of  the  professions  and  organised  by  the 
Luxembourg competition authority together with the responsible ministry. It brought 
together a range of representatives from the national competition authorities, national 
administrations  and  professions  for  a  day  in  Luxembourg  to  discuss  work  in  this 
area. 

12 
13 

The Polish study can be found at: http://www.uokik.gov.pl/pl/ochrona_konkurencji/analizyrynku/ 
The Irish study can be found at: http://www.tca.ie/professions/legal_report_executive_summary.pdf 

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Denmark’s de-regulation project14 

In 2003 the Danish government launched a de-regulation project aimed at reducing the number of rules restricting 
competition  in  Danish  law.  The  project’s  objective  was  to  analyse  a  number  of  selected  areas  and  identify 
possible  changes  to  regulation  that  restricted  competition  unnecessarily  i.e.  without  deviating  from  other  public 
interest  considerations  such  as  protecting  consumers,  health  etc.  The  analyses  were  carried  out  by  the  Danish 
Ministry of Economics and Business Affairs, the Danish Competition Authority and the Danish Ministry of Finance 
in  co-operation  with  other  relevant  ministries.  Twelve  areas  were  analysed  including  dentists,  legal  counselling, 
land registration and registered surveyors. This has resulted in pro-competitive changes to existing regulation. 

31. 

4. 

32. 

The EFTA Surveillance Authority has also undertaken an analysis of the regulatory 
situation  in  the  professional  services  in  the  EFTA  countries  (Iceland,  Liechtenstein 
and Norway).15 The professions investigated were lawyers, accountants, pharmacists, 
architects  and  engineers.  This  was  prompted  by  the  Commission’s  review  of 
professional services in the EU. 

PROGRESS BY NATIONAL REGULATORS AND PROFESSIONAL BODIES TO REFORM  

The  information  in  this  section  and  the  annexes  was  gathered  from  national 
regulatory authorities in Member States via a questionnaire.16 This asked for a brief 
description  of  restrictions  to  competition  existing  in  February  2004  for  each  of  the 
six professions and five categories of restrictions under study, along with details of 
legislative  or  other  reforms  (including  to  self-regulation  by  professional  bodies), 
undertaken or planned to remove or modify these since that date. Where restrictions 
remained in place reasons were requested. 

4.1. 

Entry restrictions and reserved tasks 

33. 

Entry restrictions fall broadly into two categories – qualitative and quantitative. The 
former  are  designed  to  ensure  that  only  those  with  appropriate  qualifications  and 
expertise  can  practise,  and  hence  act  to  safeguard  quality  of  service.  They  are  also 
often  closely  tied  to  reserved  rights  to  provide  certain  services.  Quantitative 
restrictions are largely designed to safeguard access to important services. 

34. 

Progress in reviewing and removing overly restrictive controls on entry and the range 
of reserved rights is set out in detail in Annex 1. 

4.1.1.  Quantitative restrictions 

35. 

14 

15 

16 

Strict  entry  controls  in  the  form  of  quantitative  limits  (based  both  on  demographic 
and geographical criteria) continue to exist in most Member States for the notary and 
pharmacy professions. Only Slovenia and the UK report any substantive reforms to 
to  make 
quantitative  entry  controls.  Slovenia  reports 
nominations, and make the final decision on notary appointments, has passed to the 

the  competence 

that 

information 

de-regulation 

the  Danish 

on 
Further 
http://www.ks.dk/english/publications/2004/KBR-notat/ 
The EFTA report can be found at: 
http://www.eftasurv.int/information/pressreleases/2005pr/dbaFile7456.html 
Responses were not received from all Member States and those that were varied in completeness. As a 
result this may mean that the information presented is incomplete in some cases and does not reflect all 
relevant activity undertaken or underway. 

project 

found 

can 

at: 

be 

EN 

10 

   EN 

 
                                                 
36. 

37. 

38. 

national regulatory authority (Ministry of Justice) from the professional body thereby 
introducing more State control into the process. The UK slightly eased restrictions on 
the  establishment  of  pharmacies.  However,  the  relaxation  falls  short  of  the 
recommendations of the national competition authority.  

Some  planned  activities  in  the  pharmacy  sector  are  reported  by  France,  Latvia  and 
Lithuania. France is planning to ask the national competition authority for an opinion 
on the existing rules contained in the professional ethical code regulating the right to 
establish a pharmacy, and work is underway in Latvia with the aim of increasing the 
responsibility  on  local  administrators  to  ensure  the  availability  of  adequate  health 
care in their area, including access to pharmacies. A draft amendment to the law on 
pharmacists has been prepared in Lithuania, which contains quantitative restrictions 
on  establishment.  These  have  been  queried  by  the  national  competition  authority. 
Belgium  reports  work  on  modifying  legislation  dealing  with  the  location  of 
pharmacies. 

Following a proposal from the national competition authority, Hungary reports that it 
has plans to review the Law on Notaries, which amongst other things will consider 
existing quantitative restrictions on notaries. Included in Italy’s profession’s reform 
project are proposals to review entry requirements to all the professions.17 

Reasons  given  for  retaining  quantitative  restrictions  in  both  the  pharmacy  and 
notarial  professions  focus  on  the  need  to  ensure  the  adequate  provision  of  these 
services  to  all  citizens,  especially  in  remote  areas,  and  to  safeguard  quality  by 
ensuring practitioners are rewarded appropriately for their services. 

Pharmacists in Greece 

In  Greece,  a  decision  to  eliminate  restrictions  on  the  establishment  of  pharmacies  was  recently  reversed  in 
January 2005 after five years and a quota system was reintroduced. The effects of the quota system had been to 
provoke  an  increase  of  supply  of  pharmacies  in  Athens  and  a  decrease  of  supply  in  the  islands,  thus  leaving 
some  islands  without  adequate  pharmacy  provision.  There  is  no  evidence  that  any  alternative  models  to 
encourage the continuation of a more competitive environment were considered. One solution to ensure adequate 
provision to the islands could have been the payment of public subsidies, in accordance with the State Aid rules, 
to encourage the opening of island pharmacies whilst maintaining the increase in supply in Athens. 

4.1.2.  Qualitative restrictions 

39. 

Qualitative  entry  requirements  are  widespread  across  most  professions.  These  are 
often  set  by  the  State  or  by  self-regulatory  bodies  and  vary  between  countries.18 

17 

18 

In Italy it is recognised by all parties that reform of the general framework for the professions is long 
over  due  and  proposals  are  before parliament.  These  include  reviewing  access  to  the  professions  and 
business  structure  regulation.  However,  the  current  proposals  retain  fixed  minimum  tariffs  for  all 
professions. 
As far as professional qualifications are concerned, qualitative requirements imposed by Member States 
are in principle acceptable under Community law (see for example Case C-55/94 Gebhard). In order to 
facilitate  the  recognition  of  professional  qualifications  between  Member  States,  Community  law 
harmonised minimum training requirements for certain professions such as architects and pharmacists 
(see  Directives  85/384/EEC  and  85/432/EEC).  When  qualifications  have  not  been  harmonised, 
mechanisms  have  been  put  in  place  in  order  to  facilitate  the  free  movement  of  professionals  while 
ensuring that these measures would not undermine quality: Community law allows host Member States 
to  ensure  a  priori  that  the  qualifications  of  migrants  willing  to  work  on  their  territory  match  national 
requirements for the same activity (see Directives 89/48/EEC, 92/51/EEC and 1999/42/EC). 

EN 

11 

   EN 

 
                                                 
There has been progress on developing the current framework for mutual recognition 
of qualifications with respect to the professions with the adoption of a new Directive 
on  recognition  of  professional  qualifications  on  6  June  2005.19  The  Directive, 
proposed  by  the  Commission  in  the  framework  of  the  Lisbon  agenda,  consolidates 
and improves the current regime of mutual recognition of professional qualifications. 
It  simplifies  cross-border  provision  of  services.  The  Directive  grants  effective  free 
movement of fully qualified professionals throughout the EU while guaranteeing the 
protection of consumers. 

Four  countries  report  substantive  change  (Italy,  Latvia,  Lithuania  and  Slovakia)  to 
qualitative  restrictions  to  facilitate  entry  to  the  legal,  notarial  and  technical 
professions, but these seem to be of relatively low impact. However, work planned or 
currently  underway  by  one  or  two  countries  promises  to  have  a  higher  impact  in  a 
number of professions.  

Italy  has  relaxed  qualitative  entry  requirements  to  allow  architectural  and 
engineering  graduates,  who  have  completed  a  three  year  university  course,  to 
perform some reserved tasks previously only open to those having completed the five 
year course. Slovakia likewise reports having eased entry requirements for architects 
by reducing the level of professional experience required.  

Latvia reports relaxing entry controls to the notary and legal professions by reducing 
the level of professional experience required, and those with doctorates are no longer 
required  to  take  the  professional  entry  examination  to  enter  the  legal  profession. 
Lithuania  likewise  reports  easing  entry  criteria  for  lawyers  so  that  those  with 
significant relevant professional experience do not have to take the professional entry 
examination.  

Poland reports ongoing discussions on draft legislation to remove sole control of the 
entry  examinations  for  the  legal  profession  from  the  professional  bodies,  thus 
providing  greater  transparency  and  independent  management  of  the  entry  process. 
The draft legislation also contains proposals to lower mobility barriers between the 
legal professions and create more avenues for entry. In the UK entry requirements to 
the Scottish legal profession are under review as part of the wider review of Scottish 
legal  services.  A  government  commission  in  the  Netherlands  has  been  set  up  to 
consider  the  Law  on  Notaries,  which  will  review  the  way  notaries  are  appointed. 
Work is also underway to allow candidate notaries to work as employees for existing 
notaries thereby increasing accessibility to the profession in the Netherlands.  

As noted above, Italy’s profession’s reform project covers access requirements to all 
the  professions.  The  UK  reports  that  a  general  review  of  regulation  in  the 
construction  sector  is  underway.  Portugal  is  reviewing  the  law  which  regulates 
qualitative  entry 
(including  architectural  and 
engineering  technicians)  involved  in  construction  projects,  and  is  also  reviewing 
some of the other legislation in the construction field. Slovakia is planning to review 
the  law  in  the  field  of  civil  engineering  to  simplify  procedures  and  reduce 
professional  discrimination.  France  has  started  a  project  to  modernise  the 

requirements 

technicians 

for 

40. 

41. 

42. 

43. 

44. 

19 

Details on the new Directive on recognition of professional qualifications can be found at: 
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/qualifications/future_en.htm 

EN 

12 

   EN 

 
                                                 
45. 

46. 

architectural  profession.  Ireland  reports  that  it  is  considering  reserving  the  title  of 
‘architects’  in  such  a  way  as  to  include  practically  trained  as  well  as  academically 
trained architects. Luxembourg has passed legislation to free up entry requirements 
with respect to the professions of landscape and interior designers.  

Finland reports that new legislation on auditing is being prepared. Estonia, Lithuania 
and  Slovenia  are  planning  new  auditing  legislation  to  comply  with  the  new  EU 
Auditing  Directive20  when  adopted,  which  could  change  some  of  the  current 
restrictions.  It  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  other  Member  States  too  may  review 
existing  legislation  in  the  auditing  field  as  a  result  of  the  adoption  of  this  new 
Auditing  Directive.  In  Italy  work  is  underway  to  merge  into  one  the  two  existing 
professional  bodies  in  the  accountancy  sector.  Spain  plans  to  reform  entry 
requirements  for  auditors.  The  UK  reports  having  drawn  up  new  draft  ethical 
guidelines for auditors taking into account competition concerns to ensure that they 
do not affect the ability of smaller companies to compete for the business of larger 
clients.  

tightening  of 

Conversely,  Luxembourg  reports 
the  entry  requirements  for 
accountants so that in future entrants will have to pass a professional test. Lithuania 
reports  that  educational  entry  requirements  have  increased  for  auditors.  In  Cyprus 
consideration  is  being  given  to  increasing  the  level  of  professional  experience 
required to qualify as a lawyer. Spain is planning to reform entry controls for lawyers 
by  introducing  a  professional  entry  examination.  Estonia  reports  a  new  law,  which 
introduced a registration system for those wishing to practise as pharmacists, with the 
aim  of  ensuring  that  entrants  have  the  necessary  competence.  Germany  has  also 
increased entry requirements for pharmacists and those wishing to practise in public 
or hospital pharmacies must now prove that they have a sufficient knowledge of the 
German language and law. Hungary has increased entry requirements for architects 
and  engineers,  and  entrants  must  now  pass  a  registration  examination  to  become 
licensed and gain entry to the professional bodies.  

47. 

Reasons given for the need to retain qualitative entry controls centre on the need to 
safeguard quality of services for the end user who is often not in a position to assess 
such quality, and protect the reputation and integrity of the profession.  

4.1.3.  Reserved tasks 

48. 

49. 

20 

The  scope  of  reserved  tasks  varies  considerably  between  Member  States  and 
professions. No Member State reports substantive progress in changing the scope of 
reserved  rights,  although  work  is  planned  or  underway  in  a  number  of  countries  in 
respect  of  the  legal  profession  which  could  lead  to  change  in  some  key  reserved 
areas.  

These include a committee established in Denmark to consider the current regulation 
of lawyers, including lawyers’ exclusive right to represent parties before courts, and 
a German project with the aim of reviewing existing legislation to broaden its scope 

See Commission proposal for a Directive on statutory audit of annual accounts and consolidated 
accounts and amending Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC. This can be found at: 
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/auditing/officialdocs_en.htm 

EN 

13 

   EN 

 
                                                 
50. 

51. 

to allow others rather than just lawyers to provide legal advice/counselling in certain 
areas.  

In the Netherlands there are plans to establish a government commission for lawyers 
to consider a range of issues, including the lawyer’s monopoly to represent parties in 
court, and the government commission on notaries will also consider the scope of the 
legal  monopoly/reserved  tasks  of  the  notarial  profession.  The  proposals  under 
discussion  in  Poland  provide for the creation of a ‘routine’ legal services  sector by 
removing the exclusive right of legal advisers and advocates to provide legal advice 
and services (representation in court would however remain a reserved area). In the 
UK the review of Scottish legal services is considering the extension of the rights of 
audience  and  rights  to  conduct  litigation  in  the  higher  courts.  Hungary  plans  to 
review  the  Law  on  Notaries,  including  the  scope  of  reserved  tasks.  Conversely, 
Portugal has introduced a law which reinforces lawyers’ exclusive right to represent 
parties in court. 

In other fields, the planned changes to legislation in the auditing field as a result of 
the  proposed  new  Auditing  Directive  could  change  some  of  the  current  reserved 
areas, as could the ongoing work by some Member States in the construction sector. 
The  Netherlands  is  reviewing  the  exclusive  rights  of  pharmacists,  and  Sweden 
reports an ongoing review of the State retail monopoly on pharmaceutical products 
following  the  ruling  by  the  European  Court  of  Justice21.  This  monopoly  prevents 
individual  pharmacists  from  competing  in  the  retail  market  for  pharmaceutical 
products. Portugal is planning to free up the distribution and sale of over the counter 
medicines  hitherto  only  supplied  by  pharmacists.  France  is  considering  modifying 
the  law  to  remove  certain  products  from  the  monopoly  list  so  they  can  be  sold 
outside pharmacies. Belgium also reports work to modify the scope of pharmacist’s 
reserved tasks.  

4.1.4.  The case for the review of entry controls and reserved tasks 

52. 

53. 

Disproportionate22quantitative  and  qualitative  entry  controls,  and  the  giving  of 
reserved  rights  can  constitute  severe  restrictions  on  competition.  Overly  restrictive 
regulation on what services can be provided and by whom may inhibit competition 
and  the  evolution  of  new  types  of  services  and  products.  This  could  lead  to 
consumers  not  getting  the  choice  in  prices  and  services  that  would  otherwise  be 
available, or even their opting out and choosing not to avail themselves of services 
on offer. 

While  the  Commission  accepts  that  each  Member  State  should  be  allowed  to 
determine the level of qualification needed for entry to a profession in that country, 
such  entrance  requirements  should  be  proportionate  and  reflect  what  is  actually 
required to be able to perform the relevant service to an acceptable standard.  

54. 

Poland provides an example of where excessive qualitative entry requirements in the 
legal  profession  have  had  a  negative  impact  on  consumers.23  Figures  show  that 

21 
22 
23 

Case C-438/02 Hanner 
As defined in footnote 2 above. 
See the Polish competition authority’s study at: 
http://www.uokik.gov.pl/download/Raport%20wolne%20zawody.doc 

EN 

14 

   EN 

 
                                                 
55. 

56. 

57. 

increases  in  the  number  of  advocates  has  been  well  outpaced  by  the  growth  in  the 
number  of  court  cases.24  It  is  widely  contended  that  this  has  resulted  in  consumers 
choosing  to  go  without  professional  legal  advice  and  representation.  This  is  likely 
due to higher prices being charged for legal services than would have been the case 
with greater numbers of advocates in the market place, and difficulties of access to 
services.  

The unjustified  giving of reserved tasks can have similar impacts on consumers by 
depriving  them  of  new  services  and  providers,  and  importantly,  greater  choice  and 
lower  prices.  Some  countries  have  seen  the  clear  benefits  to  be  derived  from 
reducing  the  range  of  reserved  tasks  and  in  so  doing  have  created  new  professions 
and innovative ways of providing services.25 

One  example  of  where  this  approach  has  proved  beneficial  is  in  the  area  of 
conveyancing services (i.e. transfer of property). Countries such as the Netherlands, 
UK  and  Australia  have  removed  the  monopoly  rights  for  lawyers  in  this  area.  This 
has  delivered  benefits  to  consumers  resulting  in  price  falls  and  a  wider  range  of 
services providers. In many other Member States this field remains a reserved area of 
activity for the legal and notarial professions. 

The  Commission  Services  invites  Member  States  to  review  the  continuing 
maintenance  of  disproportionate26  quantitative  and  qualitative  entry  requirements, 
and  to  review  the  range  of  reserved  tasks  with  a  view  to  reducing  them  wherever 
feasible.  In  particular,  when  restrictions  are  deemed  necessary  to  protect  end 
consumers,  increase  their  confidence,  ensure  accessibility  and  reduce  transaction 
costs,  Member  States  are  encouraged  to  consider  possible  alternatives  which 
safeguard the interest of consumers without depriving them of the benefits of a more 
competitive  environment.  The  introduction  of  specific  regulatory  requirements  for 
consumer transactions, where appropriate, may also deserve further consideration. 

Conveyancing services: An illustrative example of how removing monopoly rights has benefited 
consumers 

In the UK this monopoly right for lawyers was revoked in 1985 and by 1987 the first licensed conveyancers who 
were  not  lawyers  had  emerged  and  were  operating  in  the  market.  This  lead  to  prices  falls  in  the  1990s.  In 
addition,  providers  are  also  now  ready  to  give  fixed  quotes  to  consumers  who  may  shop  around.27  In  the 
Netherlands,  research28  found  in  2002  that  conveyancing  fees  had  fallen  as  a  result  of  introducing  more 
competition.  While,  for  Australia,  research29  in  1996  found  that  the  introduction  of  competition  in  conveyancing 
resulted in a reduction of fees of 17% in real terms. 

24 

25 

26 
27 

28 
29 

It is estimated that the number of court cases in Poland more than tripled during the 1990s while the 
number of advocates increased only slightly from 6900 to 7400. 
For an interesting critique on the need to modernise the two professions of pharmacists and notaries to 
meet modern demands - especially in relation to the most standard services - see paper by Prof. Benito 
Arruñada, ‘Managing Competition in Professional Services and the Burden of Inertia’, 2004 EU 
Competition Law and Policy Workshop Proceedings. The paper can be found at: 
http://www.iue.it/RSCAS/Research/Competition/2004/200409-compet-Arrunada.pdf. 
As defined in footnote 2 above. 
See UK government conclusions on the matters raised in its consultation paper, "In the public interest?" 
July 2002. These can be found at: http://www.dca.gov.uk/consult/general/oftreptconc.htm#part6 
The study by Fred Bruinsma can be found at: http://www.uu.nl/content/dutchlawinaction2003.pdf 
The study by J.Baker of the Justice Research Centre can be found at: 
http://www.lawfoundation.net.au/publications/research/cfcm/cfcm_rep.pdfker.J. 

EN 

15 

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4.2. 

Business structure regulation 

58. 

59. 

60. 

61. 

62. 

30 

31 

Significant restrictions on the way professionals can practise continue to exist across 
most Member States. Professionals are often required to practise as individuals or in 
partnership  with  others  in  the  same  profession,  and  incorporation  is  widely 
forbidden. Even where incorporation is permitted, the 50% rule is common whereby 
persons in the same profession, or those professionals actually practising in a  firm, 
must  have  the  majority  of  share  capital  or  voting  rights.  Restrictions  are  most 
widespread  in  the  legal,  notarial  and  pharmacy  sectors.  The  usual  reason  given  for 
these is to protect the independence of the profession and quality of service.30 

Two countries (France and Slovakia) report positive substantive reform (see Annex 
1).  France  reports  some  relaxation  of  the  ownership  rules  in  the  legal  and  notarial 
professions.  Slovakia  reports  that  rules  on  the  establishment  of  pharmacies  were 
relaxed  opening  the  way  for  pharmacies  to  be  established  by  non-pharmacists 
(although health care professionals entitled to issue prescriptions are still barred from 
opening  or  owning  shares).  There  are  also  plans  by  Slovakia  to  allow  the  entry  of 
chain  pharmacies.  Conversely,  Estonia  reports  that  a  new  law  introduced  prohibits 
the  ownership  of  pharmacists  by  drug  manufacturers  and  health  care  professionals 
entitled to issue prescriptions. 

Work  is  however  reported  as  being  underway  by  a  number  of  countries.  Austria  is 
proposing  to  open  the  way  to  allow  architectural  and  engineering  firms  to  have  a 
financial  holding/shares  in  other  firms  in  their  respective  sectors,  and  Belgium 
reports  that  work  is  underway  to  allow  architects  to  form  incorporated  firms. 
Belgium also reports that a study is underway to examine the options for closer/joint 
working  between  the  accountancy  profession  and  other  professions  e.g.  lawyers. 
Lithuania too reports plans to ease restrictions in the accountancy/audit sector.  

Germany  has  started  reviews  to  consider  easing  restrictions  in  the  accountancy, 
engineering and legal sectors. Italy reports that its reform project includes proposals 
to  revise  business  structure  regulation  in  all  professions31.  Business  structure 
restrictions  in  the  accountancy/audit  field  in  Member  States  may  also  change  as  a 
result  of  the  new  Auditing  Directive  when  adopted,  and  the  ongoing  work  in  the 
construction field by some Member States could result in change in this sector. 

The  committee  in  Denmark  on  lawyers  will  also  consider  regulation  on  the 
ownership  of  law  firms.  The  Clementi  review  (see  box  below)  in  the  UK  has 
considered the structure of the legal profession with a view to opening the way for 
new  and  more  innovative  business  structures  in  the  profession.  A  similar  review  is 
now  also  underway  of  Scottish  legal  services,  and  the  Irish  competition  authority’s 
report  on  legal  services  has  called  on  the  government  to  radically  change  the 

In  Case  C-309/99  Wouters  the  ECJ  recognised  that  a  rule  in  the  ethical  code,  which  prohibited 
partnership  between  lawyers  and  accountants  in  the  Netherlands,  could  reasonably  be  considered 
necessary for the proper practice of the profession as organised by the Member State concerned, despite 
the effects restrictive of competition that were inherent in it, and did not infringe the EC competition 
rules. It arrived at this conclusion having considered several factors, including the specific national set-
up and whether the rule was proportionate in these circumstances. 
See footnote 17. 

EN 

16 

   EN 

 
                                                 
63. 

64. 

structure  of  the  profession.  The  Netherlands’  planned  government  commission  on 
lawyers will consider business structure restrictions.  

The  Netherlands  also  reports  that  the  gradual  development  of  a  more  competitive 
market is being encouraged in the pharmacy sector, including the entry of pharmacy 
chains.  

This  is  an  area  where  many  Member  States  shy  away  from  reform  given  concerns 
about  safeguarding  the  independence  of  the  professions.  But  this  should  not  mean 
that reform cannot and should not be made, rather that it may need to be addressed in 
a  more  holistic  way.  As  noted  above,  there are already examples of such a  holistic 
approach from Ireland and the UK, and experience shows that significant consumer 
benefits  can  flow  from  relaxing  business  structure  restrictions.  In  the  US,  for 
example, relaxing controls has seen the emergence of legal ‘clinics’ making access to 
legal  advice  available  to  consumers  who  would  otherwise  have  considered  lawyers 
too expensive. The Commission Services call on Member States to pursue reform in 
this area imaginatively and proactively. 

The Clementi Review of legal services in the UK32 

Sir  David  Clementi  was  commissioned  by  the  UK  government  to  undertake  a  wide  ranging  review  of  the 
regulatory  framework  within  which  the  UK  legal  profession  operates.  This  is  particularly  notable  because  the 
scope of the review in the UK is total and the potential consequences of its findings could bring about the most 
significant wave of change to the UK legal profession in its history. Terms of Reference for the Review were: 

•  To  consider  what  regulatory  framework  would  best  promote  competition,  innovation  and  the  public  and 

consumer interest in an efficient, effective and independent legal sector. 

•  To  recommend  a  framework  which  will  be  independent  in  representing  the  public  and  consumer  interest, 
comprehensive, accountable, consistent, flexible, transparent, and no more restrictive or burdensome than is 
needed. 

Three key concerns lay behind the review: 

i. 

a concern about regulatory framework which was considered “outdated, inflexible, over complex 
and insufficiently accountable or transparent”. 

ii. 

a concern about the complaints systems and how consumer complaints were dealt with. 

iii. 

a  concern  about  the  restrictive  nature  of  business  structures  which  had  changed  little  over  a 
significant period of time despite changing business practices. 

The final Report was published in December 2004 and recommended extensive changes to existing practices to 
make legal services more consumer friendly, while at the same time enabling providers to develop better, more 
competitive,  customer-focussed  businesses.  Principal  recommendations  are  the  creation  of  a  new  oversight 
regulator with significant powers, the separation of the representative and regulatory functions of the professional 
bodies,  the  creation  of  a  single  new  complaints  body  and  steps  to  enable  the  creation  of  Legal  Disciplinary 
Practices (LDPs) which could see for the first time non-lawyers not only as managers of legal practices, but also 
as owners of and investors in LDPs. The UK government will now publish a White Paper on the proposals later in 
2005, to be followed by legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows. 

32 

The Clementi Report can be found at: www.legal-services-review.org.uk. 

EN 

17 

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4.3. 

Fixed prices 

4.3.1.  Reforms undertaken or planned 

65. 

66. 

67. 

68. 

Of the Member States with fixed prices still in operation, Germany is the only one to 
report  substantive  progress  (see  Annex  2)  in  removing  them.  It  reports  that  fixed 
tariffs  will  be  removed  for  lawyers  for  outside  court  work  from  2006,  and  that  the 
professional  rules  for  tax  consultants  have  been  changed  to  allow  flexible  tariff 
setting. 

Germany further reports that work is underway in respect of architects and engineers 
with the intention of abolishing fixed minimum and maximum tariffs. Consideration 
is  also  being  given  to  reforming  the  fixed  tariff  system  in  the  notarial  profession. 
Lithuania  reports  that  it  intends  to  launch  a  discussion  on  the  replacement  of  fixed 
tariffs  with  maximum  prices  for  notaries,  and  in  Hungary,  following  on  from  the 
proposal  of  the  national  competition  authority,  the  government  intends  to  replace 
fixed tariffs with maximum prices. 

Some Member  States also report a number of other changes of relevance. Slovenia 
reports that the professional body for notaries has lost competence to propose fixed 
tariffs  and  that  this  has  passed  to  the  national  regulatory  authority.  France  is 
examining ways of reinforcing the requirement on lawyers to inform clients as fully 
as  possible  about  how  fees  for  legal  services  will  be  calculated.  Conversely,  Italy 
reports  that  new  minimum  and  maximum  tariffs  were  adopted  for  lawyers  in  April 
2004  and  that  work  is  underway  to  revise  tariffs  for  engineers  and  architects. 
Slovakia  also  reports  that  revised  tariffs  were  introduced  for  notaries  in  2005  for 
some reserved tasks. 

Factoring in the actual changes, and assuming that the planned changes are brought 
into effect, means that there will be no fixed prices existing in any Member State for 
tax  consultants/advisers,  that  only  four  Member  States  (Cyprus,  Greece,  Italy  and 
Luxembourg)  will  continue  to  have  fixed  or  minimum  prices  for  architects  and 
engineers,  and  three  for  the  accountancy/audit  profession  (Greece,  Italy  and 
Portugal).  That  means  that  the  legal  and  notarial  professions  will  be  the  two  areas 
where  a  significant  number  of  countries  continue  to  operate  the  practice  of  setting 
fixed, minimum or maximum tariffs. 

4.3.2.  The legal and notarial professions and fixed prices – special cases? 

69. 

70. 

Arguments for the maintenance of fixed prices for notaries and the legal profession 
centre  on  the  need  to  protect  consumers  from  excessive  charges  and  protect  the 
prestige  and  independence  of  the  profession  to  ensure  the  delivery  of  a  quality 
service. 

The key concern underlying the latter reason is the notion that competent individuals 
would  either  leave  or  fail  to  enter  the  legal  profession  if  they  are  not  rewarded 
financially,  or  otherwise,  as  befitting  their  high  level  of  expertise  and  skills,  and 
hence quality would suffer. This argument, however, seems unsustainable when it is 
considered  that  fixed  fee  scales  have  been  largely  wiped  away  in  the  other 
professions  with  no  marked  decline  in  the  quality  of  entrants  or  mass  exodus  of 
existing professionals. 

EN 

18 

   EN 

 
71. 

72. 

In the case of the Latin notary profession33, it is argued that fixed prices are in fact 
akin  to  a  public  tax  given  that  many  notarial  activities  are  an  exercise  of  public 
authority. It is true that the notary profession is currently characterised by a general 
lack  of  effective  competition  stemming  from  significant  regulation  of  many  key 
aspects e.g. quantitative entry controls and advertising prohibitions. In such a highly 
regulated market, price regulation may be needed to protect consumers, but that does 
not mean that its removal is impossible. Rather, that price de-regulation may need to 
be  accompanied  by  other  broader  reforms  (e.g.  relaxation  of  entry  restrictions  or 
removal  of  certain  monopoly  rights).  An  example  of  where  de-regulation  in  the 
notarial profession has taken place is the Netherlands. This has lead to the removal of 
many  fixed  fees  and  the  easing  of  entry  restrictions  to  facilitate  the  introduction  of 
price competition. 

Finally, it is worth reiterating that notaries are not exempt from the scope of the EC 
competition  rules.  Although  the  exercise  of  public  authority  is  not  an  economic 
activity34,  the  concept  of  undertaking  is  relative.  A  given  entity  may  be  engaged 
partially in an economic activity and partially exercise public authority.35 In so far as 
it is engaged in an economic activity, it is subject to the competition rules. Though 
certain  activities  of  notaries  are  generally  regarded  as  the  exercise  of  public 
authority, it is clear that notaries also engage in commercial (economic) activities for 
which they compete with other professionals. Examples of this are the provision of 
legal advice and negotiation in the real estate area. 

Notaries in the Netherlands36 

The  Netherlands  is  the  only  country  where  substantial  de-regulation  of  the  Latin  notarial  profession  has  taken 
place.  Since  the  conditions  for establishment  were relaxed in 1999, there are 201 more candidate notaries and 
notaries, and 77 more notaries’ offices. New legislation, now in the drafting stage, will also allow notaries who do 
not wish to be independent, to become employees in a notary’s office. This de-regulation has resulted in prices 
increasing  in  the  family  law  area,  but  decreasing  for  real  estate  transactions.  To  ensure  access  to  notarial 
services  in  the  family  law  area  by  the  lower  paid,  the  Netherlands  regulates  prices  for  this  group  and  has 
established fixed maximum tariffs in this area. These tariffs are adjusted on a yearly basis. 

73. 

The  Commission  Services  invites  all  Member  States  to  take  action  to  review 
particularly  critically  all  fixed  and  minimum  prices  with  a  view  to  removing  them 
wherever possible. Price fixing does not guarantee quality, and may serve to inhibit 
healthy  competition  between  providers,  discourage  efficiency,  or  the  development 
and introduction of new services and ways of doing things. This could be bad for the 

33 

34 

35 

36 

The so-called `Latin' notary profession (sometimes referred to as ‘civil law notaries’) are independent 
professionals who advise private parties and draft contracts on their instruction, as well as partake in the 
issuing of public documents, and fulfil quasi-judicial duties. They are appointed by the state, entrusted 
with  public  functions  and  hold  a  public  office.  They  are  not  however  civil  servants  and  remain 
independent from the state and economically self-reliant. This profession exists in AT, BE, CZ, DE, EE, 
EL, ES, FR, HU, IT, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT, SK and SI. 
Case  C-364/92,  Eurocontrol,  [1994]  ECR  I  -0043  para  30,  and  C-343/95,  Calì  e  Figli  1997  ECR  I  -
1547.paras 22-23. 
This was the case for the public employment office in Case C-41/90 Höfner [1991] ECR I-1979, para. 
21,  the  airport  authority  in  Case  C-82/01  P  Aéroports  de  Paris  [2002]  ECR  II  -3929  and  the  city  of 
Trier in Case C-475/99 Ambulanz Glöckner [2001] ECR I-08089. 
Details  on  the  de-regulation  of  the  notarial  profession  in  the  Netherlands  can  be  found  at: 
http://www.justitie.nl/pers/persberichten/archief/archief_2003/120203commissie_monitoring_notariaat
_publiceert_eindrapport.asp 

EN 

19 

   EN 

 
                                                 
professions  who  fail  to  adjust  to  new  business  practices  or  technologies,  and  could 
lead to consumers having to pay inflated prices for mediocre levels of service. 

4.4. 

Recommended prices 

74. 

75. 

76. 

77. 

78. 

79. 

37 

38 

Substantive  change  has  been  reported  by  six  Member  States  (Austria,  Hungary, 
Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia and UK) (see Annex 3). 

Austria reports that it has relaxed its policy on recommended prices for architects and 
engineers  and  that  these  have  become  guidelines.  Hungary  similarly  reports  that 
recommended minimum tariffs have become guidelines for architects. Ireland reports 
that  the  professional  body  for  architects  has  ceased  the  practice  of  issuing 
recommended fee tables during the year. Changes have been made to the architect’s 
professional code in the UK to allow architects to revise fee quotations to take into 
account quotations from other competing architects. In Slovakia recommended prices 
were abolished in 2005 for tax consultants, architects and engineers.  

In  the  legal  sector,  Lithuania  has  abolished  recommended  prices  for  lawyers  via  a 
legislative  amendment.  In  the  UK  the  professional  body  for  Scottish  solicitors  has 
agreed  to  withdraw  its  recommended  prices  for  general  business.  The  UK  also 
reports that fee guidance has been withdrawn by the UK public notaries’ professional 
body.37 

Three other changes reported are of relevance. Luxembourg reports plans to link fees 
to the results of work for lawyers, and Slovenia, that recommended fees for architects 
are  currently  being  prepared  for  introduction  by  the  professional  body.  Revised 
recommended prices were introduced in Slovakia for lawyers during 2005. 

This  means  that  some  progress  has  been  made  in  reviewing  and  eliminating 
recommended prices for architects, engineers, lawyers and notaries. That said, there 
are  still  a  significant  number  of  Member  States  with  recommended  prices  in 
operation, and as with fixed prices, it is the legal and notarial professions that have 
the  largest  number.  As  noted  above,  one  Member  State  even  reports  plans  by  the 
professional body to introduce recommended fee scales for architects. 

The  key  justifications  given  for  maintaining  recommended  fee  scales  centre  on  the 
need  to  provide  a  guide  to  consumers  on  likely  costs  and  protect  against  what  is 
termed ‘unfair’ competition between practitioners38. Some Member States also point 
to  the  fact  that  the  scales  are  non-binding  and  that  client  and  provider  are  free  to 
agree a fee without reference to such scales. 

UK public notaries are to be distinguished from the Latin notary profession as defined in footnote 33. A 
UK Notary Public bridges the differences between the legal systems of one nation with that of another, 
so as to give lawful effect to arrangements made by parties from different countries. Within the UK, a 
Notary Public service will usually be available through a Solicitor who has been granted the authority to 
act  in  legal  matters  associated  with  foreign  jurisdictions.  The  Notaries  Society  is  the  representative 
society for the 900 or so Notaries Public practising in England and Wales. 
In  some  countries  professionals  are  barred  from  engaging  in  certain  business  practices  such  as  price 
competition and advertising under ethical codes. Such practices are considered to undermine the dignity 
and prestige of a profession and to engage in them is deemed as ‘unfair’ competition. 

EN 

20 

   EN 

 
                                                 
80. 

Recommended fees and reference scales can still act to facilitate price co-ordination. 
There  are  other  less  distorting  ways  to  provide  consumers  with  a  ‘guide’  to  prices. 
For  instance,  active  monitoring  by  consumer  associations  on  pricing  and  the 
collection  and  publication  of  survey  based  historical  price  data  by  independent 
organisations.  Ways  can  also  be  developed  to  provide  customers  with  costs  of  the 
professional service ex ante, at the moment of giving the mandate. Certainly scales 
which do not help the consumer to know in advance how much they will have to pay 
(either  because  of  their  complexity  or  because  they  are  not  public)  are  totally 
unjustifiable.  The  Commission  Services  urge  all  involved  to  eliminate  the  use  of 
recommended fee scales as soon as possible. 

4.5. 

Advertising restrictions 

81. 

82. 

83. 

84. 

85. 

39 

40 

The level of  permissible advertising continues to vary considerably across Member 
States and professions. Five Member States report substantive change to advertising 
restrictions  (France,  Ireland,  Italy,  Lithuania  and  Portugal)  (see  Annex  4).  The 
majority  of  these  changes  relate  to  provisions  being  relaxed  in  ethical  codes  and 
reflects the fact that a significant number of advertising restrictions are contained in 
such codes39. 

In  the  accountancy  profession,  France  has  relaxed  the  law  to  allow  informative 
personal advertising and work has started to bring the code of professional ethics into 
line. Germany also reports that a review is underway of the professional body’s rules 
on advertising in the accountancy sector with the aim of relaxing them. 

In  Ireland  advertising  restrictions  have  been  removed  for  architects  and  engineers 
and  in  Italy  the  architect’s  ethical  code  was  reviewed  and  the  restrictions  relaxed. 
There are also plans in place in Italy to review the engineer’s code. 

Lithuania  and  Portugal  report  substantive  change  in  the  legal  profession  and  both 
have  freed  up  the  effective  prohibition  to  allow  some  ‘publicity’  type  activities 
(although proactive promotional advertising is still prohibited40). Five other countries 
report  that  work  has  started  or  is  planned  to  examine  or  reform  advertising 
restrictions in the legal profession (Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, and UK in 
respect of Scottish legal services). Greece also reports plans to review the legislative 
rules on publicity (but not advertising). Italy reports work to create new ethical rules 
for notaries covering the provision of information to the public.  

In the pharmaceutical sector, two countries report having plans to review the rules on 
advertising  (Hungary  and  France).  Luxembourg,  however,  reports  plans  to 
incorporate the effective prohibition on advertising into the professional ethical code 
thus making it binding. 

In  many  countries  a  distinction  is  also  made  between  ‘publicity’  or  ‘informative  advertising’,  and 
‘advertising’ or ‘promotional publicity’, the idea being that a wider dissemination of information on the 
part of professionals is accepted, or becoming accepted, while proactive promotional advertising is still 
prohibited.  The  latter  may  include  in  particular  comparative  advertising,  cold-calling  and  soliciting. 
However,  the  line  between  what  is  considered  ‘informative’  and  what  is  considered  ‘promotional’ 
varies between countries and professions. 
See footnote 39 above for explanation. 

EN 

21 

   EN 

 
                                                 
86. 

87. 

88. 

5. 

89. 

41 

42 

43 
44 

While these changes and plans are welcome, there are still widespread restrictions on 
advertising  covering  both  manner  (e.g.  only  printed  advertising  is  permissible)  and 
content (e.g. comparative advertising is prohibited). Of particular note is the effective 
blanket prohibition on advertising in place across the notarial profession in Europe. 

Maintenance  of  such  restrictions  is  defended  on  the  basis  of  protecting  consumers 
from misleading claims, preventing ‘unfair’ competition, and preserving professional 
integrity and independence. 

Advertising can play a key role in informing and educating consumers. It provides a 
means by which they can compare and contrast services, and seek out services that 
best suit their needs and means. The existence of severe advertising restrictions in the 
professions can thus make it more difficult for the consumer to know where to find 
an  expert,  or  determine  the  likely  price  of  a  given  service,  and  hence  contribute  to 
consumer  ignorance  and  confusion.  It  is  especially  difficult  to  see  how  advertising 
restrictions which cover both content and manner can be justifiable. As to protecting 
consumers  from  misleading  advertising,  there  is  general  EU-wide  legislation  on 
deceptive and misleading advertising41 that serves to protect consumers against such 
abuse,  so  it  is  questionable  why  there  is  a  need  for  further  sector  specific 
restrictions.42  All  advertising  restrictions  allegedly  based  on  the  need  to  protect 
consumers  against  unfair  claims,  other  than  those  foreseen  in  the  EU  unfair 
commercial  practices 
legislation,  should  be  reviewed  urgently.  Advertising 
restrictions  designed  to  protect  against  unfair  competition,  and  preserve  the  dignity 
and integrity of the profession, should also be reviewed to ensure they are justified 
and proportionate43. 

ENFORCEMENT  BY  THE  COMMISSION,  NATIONAL  COMPETITION  AUTHORITIES  AND 
NATIONAL COURTS 

In  June  2004  the  Commission  issued  a  decision  condemning  the  recommended 
minimum  fee  scale  operated  by  the  Belgian  Architects’  Association44.  This  scale  – 
described  as  a  ‘guideline’  -  laid  down  the  minimum  fees  for  architectural  services 
performed  by  independent  architects  in  Belgium.  The  Commission  considered  that 
the original decision of the Association in 1967 laying down the fee scale (which had 
subsequently  been  amended  several  times  since),  should  be  considered  as  an 
independent  act  of  prescriptive  character  for  which  the  Association,  acting  as  an 
association of undertakings, was wholly responsible. The Commission also came to 
the conclusion that the Association intended to coordinate its members’ behaviour in 

Directive 2005/29/EC of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in 
the internal market. . 
Member States are permitted by Article 7.5 of the Directive 84/450/EEC on misleading advertising, as 
amended  by  Directive  97/55/EC,  to  introduce  bans  or  limitations  on  comparative  advertising  for 
professional services. This is intended to safeguard the interests of professionals and competitors. Any 
bans  or  limitations  introduced  must  however  be  compatible  with  the  provisions  of  the  European 
Community  Treaty  (see  judgement  of  the  Court  of  First  Instance  in  case  T-144/99  Institute  of 
Professional  Representatives  before  the  European  Patent  Office  v  Commission  [2001]  ECR  II-01087 
concerning comparative advertising).  
As defined in footnote 2 above. 
Decision 
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/competition/antitrust/cases/index/by_nr_77.html#i38_549 

26.06.2004,  COMP/38.549 - PO 

des  Architectes 

L'Ordre 

belges, 

of 

/ 

EN 

22 

   EN 

 
                                                 
90. 

91. 

92. 

93. 

the market via this practice and that the fee scale had the restriction of competition as 
its object. This was even despite the fact that the Association described the scale as a 
‘guideline’ and that not all architects had complied with the scale. The Commission 
imposed a fine of €100,000. The Association decided not to appeal this decision and 
withdrew the scale of fees, and took steps to publicise the fact. 

National  competition  authorities  have  also  been  active.  Annex  5  provides  an 
overview of cases opened since publication of the Commission’s 2004 Report under 
the  EC  competition  rules  in  the  six  professions  selected  for  study.  Cases  have  also 
been opened covering other professions such as veterinaries and dentists. 

Ten cases were opened during 2004/05. These cover a variety of restriction type and 
professions.  All  are  against  professional  associations.  Two  were  closed  following 
satisfactory  voluntary  resolution  of  the  competition  concern  identified.  In  the 
Austrian case against the Bundesinnung Bau (Austrian Builders Association) it was 
found  that  the  so-called  ‘non-binding’  recommended  price  scales  were  in  effect 
binding and contrary to Article 81, and that these should be revoked45. 

Member  States  are  also  pursuing  further  regionally  confined  cases  under  their 
national competition rules. Again, these cover a range of professions and restrictions. 
One interesting example is a case undertaken by the Finnish Competition Authority 
against  the  Association  of  Finnish  Architects.  This  ended  in  the  competition 
authority  issuing  a  prohibition  decision  against  the  professional  body  which  had 
banned  its  members  from  participating  in  architectural  competitions  that  it  had  not 
approved. 

Under Article 234, national courts can ask the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a 
preliminary ruling on a question that is necessary to enable it to give a judgement on 
the  application  of  Community  law,  including  the  EC  competition  rules.  On  17 
February  2005,  the  European  Court  of  Justice  made  an  order  on  a  request  for  a 
preliminary  ruling  concerning  the  State  examination  for  access  to  the  Italian  Bar 
(Case  C-250/03,  Mauri).  In  Italy,  the  examination  committee,  which  oversees  the 
access  examination  to  the  Bar,  is  composed  of  five  members  appointed  by  the 
Minister for Justice, namely, two judges, a professor of law and two advocates - the 
latter being nominated by the Consiglio Nazionale Forense (national bar council) on 
a joint proposal by the bar councils of the district concerned. The order assessed the 
facts  on  the  basis  of  the  criteria  mentioned  in  Case  C-35/99,  Arduino.  The  ECJ 
concluded  that  Articles  81  EC,  82  EC  and  43  EC  do  not  preclude  a  rule  which 
provides  that  the  examination  committee  is  to  be  composed  as  described.  Since  it 
appears  that  the  Ministry  of  Justice  maintains  substantial  supervision  of  the 
procedures for the State examination, the ECJ concluded that the State had not given 
up the exercise of its powers in favour of private economic operators. The reasoning 
was identical as in Arduino, i.e. the State has not given up the exercise of its powers 
in favour of private economic operators nor can that State be criticised for requiring 
or encouraging the adoption of agreements, decisions or concerted practices contrary 
to Article 81 EC or reinforcing their effects or for requiring or encouraging abuses of 
a  dominant  position  contrary  to  Article  82  EC  or  reinforcing  the  effects  of  such 
abuses. 

45 

Case summary can be found at: http://www.bwb.gv.at/BWB/Aktuell/widerruf_der_hob_baumeister.htm 

EN 

23 

   EN 

 
                                                 
94. 

6. 

95. 

96. 

97. 

Currently  there  is  one  preliminary  ruling  pending  before  the  European  Court  of 
Justice  on  which  the  Commission  has  submitted  observations  asking  the  Court  to 
refine  its  case-law  in  line  with  the  Commission’s  2004  Report  (Case  C-202/04, 
Capodarte and Macrino/Meloni.) 

CONCLUSIONS 

in 

refining  and  eliminating 
There  has  been  some  substantive  progress 
disproportionate  restrictions46  to  competition  in  legislation  and  in  the  rules  and 
regulations  of  professional  bodies  during  2004/05.  Two  Member  States  (Slovenia 
and  UK)  report  progress  in  easing  quantitative  entry  restrictions  and  four  (Italy, 
Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia) in freeing up qualitative restrictions; two (France and 
Slovakia) in relaxing business structure regulation; one (Germany) in removing fixed 
or minimum prices; six (Austria, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia and UK) in 
ending  the  use  of  recommended  prices;  five  (France,  Ireland,  Italy,  Lithuania  and 
Portugal)  in  easing  advertising  restrictions.  No  substantive  progress  is  reported  on 
revising the scope of reserved tasks. 

Some promising work is underway in a number of countries (Denmark, Netherlands, 
Poland and UK), which could lead to significant change in the structure of the legal 
professions, and in Germany in respect of a number of professions. 

Most  progress  is  being  made  in  those  countries  where  there  is  a  structured 
programme of pro-competitive or regulatory reform in place - Denmark, Netherlands 
and  UK.  Moreover,  it  is  notable  that  in  these  countries  there  is  a  close  partnership 
between  government  and  national  competition  authorities.  In  other  countries  the 
reform  process  has  not  yet  got  underway,  or  can  best  be  described  as  haphazard.

46 

As defined in footnote 2 above. 

EN 

24 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Annex 1: Overview of reforms made or planned during 2004/05 to entry restrictions, reserved tasks or business structure regulation 

Profession 

Reforms to entry restrictions 

Reforms to reserved tasks 

Reforms to business structure 

Estonia: plans to draw up a new Auditing Act to 
comply with the new Auditing Directive due for 
adoption in 2005. This could change some of the current 
restrictions.  
Lithuania: plans to draw up an amended Law on Audit 
to comply with the requirements of the new Audit 
Directive when adopted. 
Slovenia: legislative reform is planned after adoption of 
the new Auditing Directive. 

Belgium: study underway to examine the options for 
inter-professional co-operation/joint working between 
the accountancy profession (accountants/auditors/tax 
consultants) and other professions e.g. lawyers.  
Estonia: plans to draw up a new Auditing Act to 
comply with the new Auditing Directive due for 
adoption in 2005. This could change some of the current 
restrictions.  
Germany: review underway to consider relaxing 
business structure restrictions so that accountants can 
co-operate/work jointly e.g. form partnerships with 
those outside the professions too  
(e.g. Gewerbetreibenden). 
Italy: reform project provides for establishment of 
professional corporations (currently incorporation is 
forbidden). 
Lithuania: plans to widen the law and allow legal 
entities as well as natural persons to carry out audits 
(currently only legal entities are allowed to carry out 
audits in Lithuania). There are also plans to draw up an 
amended Law on Audit to comply with the requirements 
of the new Audit Directive when adopted. 
Slovenia: legislative reform is planned after adoption of 
the new Auditing Directive. 

Accountancy 
/audit  

Estonia: plans to draw up a new Auditing Act to 
comply with the new Auditing Directive due for 
adoption in 2005. This could change some of the current 
restrictions.  
Finland: new law pending on auditing (currently in 
draft form). 
Italy: it is recognised that reform of the general 
framework for the professions is long over due and 
proposals are before parliament. These include 
reviewing access to the professions and business 
structure regulation. Work is also underway to merge 
into one the two existing professional bodies for the 
accountancy profession (‘dottori commercialisti’ and 
‘ragionieri periti commerciali’).  
Lithuania: new Law on Audit introduced in 5/04 
increased the entry requirements. Instead of higher 
education it became higher ‘economic education’ and 
the number of examinations required for professional 
qualification increased from 4 to 5. There are also plans 
to draw up an amended Law on Audit to comply with 
the requirements of the new Audit Directive when 
adopted. 
Luxembourg: training requirements have been 
amended. In future entrants will be required to pass an 
aptitude/ professional test to practise as an accountant 
(‘expert-comptable’) - still to be implemented. 
Slovenia: legislative reform is planned after adoption of 
the new Auditing Directive. 
Spain: plans to reform entry requirements for auditors.  
UK: new draft ethical standards for auditors have been 
formulated by the Auditing Practices Board (APB). 
Following intervention by the NCA these were revised 
to ensure that that they did not affect the ability of small 
and medium sized audit firms to compete for the 

EN 

25 
EN 

 
 
 
Profession 

Reforms to entry restrictions 

Reforms to reserved tasks 

Reforms to business structure 

Belgium: study underway to examine the options for 
inter-professional co-operation/joint working between 
the accountancy profession (accountants/auditors/tax 
consultants) and other professions e.g. lawyers.  

Austria: work underway to allow architectural 
companies to have a financial holding/buy shares in 
other architectural companies (currently only natural 
persons may own shares in an architectural company).  
Belgium: project in progress to allow architects to 
operate as incorporated entities (currently this is not 
allowed). 
Italy: reform project provides for establishment of 
professional corporations (currently incorporation is 
forbidden, with some exceptions). 
Portugal: government is reviewing some of the 
legislation in the construction area. 
UK: general ongoing review of regulation in the 
construction industry by the Government. 

Tax 
Consultants 
(where this 
profession 
exists 
separately) 
Architects 

EN 

business of larger clients. The revised draft introduced 
exemptions for SME’s and small audit firms to provide 
for this.  
None 

None 

Portugal: government is reviewing some of the 
legislation in the construction area. 
UK: general ongoing review of regulation in the 
construction industry by the government.  

France: project underway to reorganise and modernise 
the architectural profession. 
Hungary: from 1/1/05 entry requirements were 
increased and entrants have to pass a new registration 
examination to become licensed and be able to join the 
professional body/chamber to practise as a licensed 
architect. This examination is regulated by the 
government. 
Ireland: the government is proposing to reserve the title 
of ‘architect’ in a way so as to include practically trained 
as well as academically trained architects.  
Italy:  it  is  recognised  that  reform  of  the  general 
framework  for  the  professions  is  long  over  due  and 
include 
proposals  are  before  parliament.  These 
reviewing  access 
the  professions  and  business 
structure  regulation.  Access  requirements  have  already 
been relaxed to allow graduates who have completed a 3 
year  university  course  to  perform  some  reserved  tasks 
previously  only  open  to  those  having  completed  the  5 
year course. 
Luxembourg: law passed in 7/04 which freed up entry 
requirements with respect to landscape and interior 
designers. Only relevant study now required. No longer 
have to be admitted to a professional body, or take a 
professional examination, or do a period of traineeship 
(internship). 
Portugal: review underway by the government of the 
law which regulates qualitative entry requirements for 

to 

26 
EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Profession 

Reforms to entry restrictions 

Reforms to reserved tasks 

Reforms to business structure 

‘technicians’ involved in construction work (this 
includes architectural and engineering technicians). 
Review will cover access requirements. The government 
is also reviewing some of the legislation in the 
construction area. 
Slovakia: entry requirements relaxed. Professional 
training requirement now 3 instead of 5 years.  
UK: general ongoing review of regulation in the 
construction industry by the government. 
Hungary: from 1/1/05 entry requirements have been 
increased and entrants have to pass a new registration 
examination to become licensed and be able to join the 
professional body/chamber to practise as a licensed 
engineer. This examination is regulated by the 
government. 
Italy:  it  is  recognised  that  reform  of  the  general 
framework  for  the  professions  is  long  over  due  and 
include 
proposals  are  before  parliament.  These 
reviewing  access 
the  professions  and  business 
structure  regulation.  Access  requirements  have  already 
been relaxed to allow graduates who have completed a 3 
year  university  course  to  perform  some  previously 
reserved tasks only open to those having completed the 
5 year course. 
Portugal: review underway by the government of the 
law which regulates qualitative entry requirements for 
‘technicians’ involved in construction work (this 
includes architectural and engineering technicians). 
Review will cover access requirements. The government 
is also reviewing some of the legislation in the 
construction area. 
Slovakia: plans to review and amend the Building Act 
with respect to the field of civil engineering to simplify 
procedures and reduce any kind of professional 
discrimination. 
UK: general ongoing review of regulation in the 
construction industry by the government. 

to 

Engineers 

EN 

Portugal: government is reviewing some of the 
legislation in the construction area. 
Slovakia: plans to review and amend the Building Act 
with respect to the field of civil engineering to simplify 
procedures and reduce any kind of professional 
discrimination.  
UK: general ongoing review of regulation in the 
construction industry by the government. 

Austria: work underway to allow engineering 
companies to have a financial holding/buy shares in 
other engineering companies (currently only natural 
persons may own shares in an engineering company).  
Germany: review is underway in some regions at 
Länder level to consider relaxing business 
structure/ownership restrictions (currently the 50% rule 
operates in the case of certain types of engineering 
companies i.e. the majority of share capital must be 
owned by engineers). 
Italy: reform project provides for establishment of 
professional corporations (currently incorporation is 
forbidden, with some exceptions). 
Portugal: government is reviewing some of the 
legislation in the construction area. 
Slovakia: plans to review and amend the Building Act 
with respect to the field of civil engineering to simplify 
procedures and reduce any kind of professional 
discrimination. 
UK: general ongoing review of regulation in the 
construction industry by the government. 

27 
EN 

 
 
 
Profession 

Reforms to entry restrictions 

Reforms to reserved tasks 

Reforms to business structure 

Legal 
profession 

Notaries 

EN 

Cyprus: consideration being given to increasing the 
practical experience requirement to 2 years from the 
current 1 year. 
Italy: it is recognised that reform of the general 
framework for the professions is long over due and 
proposals are before parliament. These include 
reviewing access to the professions and business 
structure regulation.  
Latvia: requirements have been relaxed with regard to 
the level of professional experience required and the 
requirement to take the professional entry examination 
has been removed for those with PhDs. This is designed 
to facilitate entry. 
Lithuania: entry criteria have been relaxed for those 
with significant professional legal experience (of at least 
5 years) so that they do not have to take the professional 
entry examination. It is designed to facilitate access. 
Poland: new law under discussion to promote greater 
access to the legal profession (it creates a new ministry 
commission to oversee the entry examinations thus 
providing more transparency and openness, and creates 
new routes of entry to the legal profession).  
Spain: reforms planned to increase entry requirements 
for lawyers by introducing a professional entry 
examination. 
UK – Scotland: entry requirements are under review by 
the Scottish Executive Working Group on Legal 
Services (this is due to report by Summer 2005). 

Hungary: following on from the proposal of the NCA, 
the Ministry of Justice intends to review the Law on 
Notaries. This will amongst other things consider the 
quantitative restrictions on notary numbers.  
Italy: it is recognised that reform of the general 
framework for the professions is long over due and 
proposals are before parliament. These include 
reviewing access to the professions and business 

Denmark: a governmental committee was set up in 
2004 to examine the rules on lawyers – among them the 
sole right to represent parties in court.  
Germany: project underway by Ministry of Justice to 
consider changes to the law governing the provision of 
legal advice/counselling. The aim is to broaden the 
scope of the law to allow others rather than just lawyers 
the right to provide legal advice in certain areas. 
Denmark: a governmental committee was set up in 
2004 to examine the rules on lawyers – among them the 
sole right to represent parties in court.  
NL: there are plans to set up a government commission 
to review the Law on Lawyers which will include 
considering whether lawyers’ monopoly for in court 
work should continue. This commission will report 
within 6 months of being set up. 
Poland: new law under discussion also proposes 
creating a ‘routine’ legal services sector. The proposal 
would remove the monopoly rights of legal 
advisers/advocates to provide legal advice/services. 
Representation in court would remain a reserved area.  
Portugal: law in 8/04 introduced notion of “actos 
próprios”, which are prohibited to other professions. 
This reinforces the sole right of lawyers to provide 
representation in court. 
UK – Scotland: extending rights of audience and rights 
to conduct litigation in the higher courts to non-lawyers 
under review by Scottish Executive Working Group on 
the Legal Services.  
Hungary: the proposed review of the Law on Notaries. 
will also consider the scope of reserved tasks.  
NL: government commission established in July 2004 
will also consider scope of legal monopoly/reserved 
tasks of notaries.  

Denmark: the governmental committee will also 
consider current business structure regulation.  
France: new décret in 2004 relaxed the ownership rules 
to allow the constitution of legal firms where the 
capital/shares can be held by other legal firms or natural 
persons in the legal profession (also see under notaries 
below). Changes have also been made to the law to 
allow financial participation by ‘sociétés’ in foreign 
legal firms. 
Germany: project underway by the Ministry of Justice 
on a new law will also consider relaxing the current 
business structure/ownership restrictions on lawyers 
(lawyers can currently only co-operate/form partnerships 
etc. with patent lawyers, tax advisers and accountants). 
Italy: reform project provides for establishment of 
professional corporations (currently incorporation is 
forbidden). 
NL: the planned government commission to review the 
Law on Lawyers will also consider regulatory structure, 
including handling complaints and disciplinary issues, 
and permissible business structures.  
UK- England and Wales: Clementi review has made 
proposals to relax current restrictions on business 
structure. 
UK – Scotland: business structure restrictions under 
review by the Scottish Executive Working Group on 
Legal Services. 

France: new décret in 2004 relaxed the rules to allow 
notaries to form incorporated firms. Notaries are also 
now permitted to hold a minority share/financial holding 
in a legal firm. Changes have also been made to the law 
to allow financial participation by ‘sociétés’ in foreign 
notarial firms. 
Italy: reform project provides for establishment of 
professional corporations (currently incorporation is 

28 
EN 

 
 
 
 
 
Profession 

Reforms to entry restrictions 

Reforms to reserved tasks 

Reforms to business structure 

structure regulation.  
Latvia: educational/qualitative entry requirements were 
relaxed from 11/04 to facilitate entry by a wider range of 
people. 
NL: government established a commission in July 2004 
to review the Law on Notaries. Amongst other things 
this will consider the current conditions of appointment 
to the notarial profession. It is due to report by July 
2005. Also, work underway to open the way for 
candidate notaries to become employees of an existing 
notary – designed to increase accessibility to the 
profession. 
Slovenia: the competence to make nominations and 
make the final decision on notarial appointments has 
passed to the national regulator (Ministry of Justice) 
from the professional body. The Ministry also now has a 
greater supervisory role. 
Belgium:  project  to  modify  legislation  on  location  of 
pharmacies. Also project to renew the ethical code.  
Estonia: new law introduced registration system for 
pharmacists wishing to practise (took effect from 
1/3/05). Aim being to ensure all entrants have the 
necessary competence. 
France: plans to ask the NCA for an opinion on the 
rules and restrictions governing the right to establish a 
pharmacy contained in the ethical code.  
Germany: entry requirements were increased from 
15/7/05 as a result of a change to the law. This now 
requires pharmacists wanting to work in public or 
hospital pharmacies to prove that they have a ‘sufficient 
knowledge’ of the German language and law. 
Italy: it is recognised that reform of the general 
framework for the liberal professions is long over due 
and proposals are before parliament. These include 
reviewing access to the professions and business 
structure regulation.  
Latvia: plans to amend the law to increase the 

Pharmacists 

EN 

forbidden). 

Belgium:  project  will  also  modify  legislation  on  some 
reserved tasks. Also project to renew the ethical code.  
France: discussions underway about modifying the law 
to remove certain products from the monopoly list so 
they can be sold outside pharmacies. 
NL: evaluation of reserved tasks in process.  
Portugal: plans to open up market for the sale of some 
medicines. 
Sweden: government review of the structure and 
operation of the State owned monopoly on retail 
pharmacies following ECJ ruling. 

Belgium: project to renew the ethical code.  
Estonia: new law introduced restrictions on ownership 
of pharmacists (took effect from 1/3/05). A drug 
manufacturer, or health care professional entitled to 
issue prescriptions, cannot be a shareholder of a 
pharmacy. This aims to ensure the independence of the 
practising pharmacist. 
Italy: reform project provides for establishment of 
professional corporations (currently incorporation is 
forbidden). 
NL: gradual development of a more competitive market 
is being encouraged, including entry by pharmacy 
chains. 
Slovakia: rules on establishment were relaxed from 
1/12/04 so that pharmacies can be established by non-
pharmacists (previously only pharmacists were allowed 
to establish pharmacies), but with the exception of 
health care professionals entitled to issue prescriptions 
who are still barred from establishing or being 
shareholders in a pharmacy. Also, plans to allow the 

29 
EN 

 
 
 
Profession 

Reforms to entry restrictions 

Reforms to reserved tasks 

Reforms to business structure 

responsibility on local administrators to ensure the 
availability of health care services in their area, 
including pharmacies. 
Lithuania: draft amendment to the law has been 
prepared. NCA has queried the quantitative restrictions 
therein.  
UK: NCA study suggested relaxing entry controls on 
number and location of pharmacists. Some initial 
reforms were announced by the government in 8/04.  

Source: National regulators responses to Commission questionnaire dated December 2004.  

creation of chain pharmacies (current rules allow 
ownership of one pharmacy and one branch only). 

EN 

30 
EN 

 
 
 
 
Annex 2: Overview of countries and professions with fixed prices and reforms made during 2004/05 or planned  

Profession 

Fixed prices as @ February 2004 

Minimum prices as @ February 2004  Maximum prices as @ February 2004 

Accountancy 
/audit  

Greece 

Italy (for public accountants only) 
Portugal (for statutory audit only) 

Italy (for public accountants only) 

Tax Consultants 
(where this 
profession exists 
separately) 
Architects 

Luxembourg  

Engineers 

Luxembourg  

Legal profession  Czech Republic 

Estonia (for legal aid cases only) 
France (for technical and procedural 
aspects of court work only) 
Ireland (for legal aid cases only) 
Luxembourg (for legal aid cases only) 
Poland (for court work only) 
Slovenia 
Spain (for the profession of  
‘procuradores’ only) 

EN 

Germany (list of criteria that must be 
taken into account when setting prices) 

Germany (list of criteria that must be 
taken into account when setting prices) 

Cyprus (for public projects and works 
only) 
Germany  
Italy (for specific services defined in law) 

Germany 
Italy (for specific services defined in law) 

Cyprus (for public projects and works 
only) 
Germany 
Greece 
Italy (for specific services defined in law) 

Germany 
Greece 
Italy (for specific services defined in law) 

Cyprus 
Germany  
Greece 
Italy 

Italy 

31 
EN 

Reforms  made  or  planned 
February 2004 

since 

Germany: professional rule has been 
changed so that the criteria are now 
‘guidelines’ and are not binding.  

Germany: work underway by the 
government to abolish fixed minimum 
and maximum tariffs. (First draft law 
from the Ministry proposing abolition of 
tariffs did not get a political majority.) 
Italy: work group set up in Ministry to 
revise tariff scales for both private and 
public works 
Germany: work underway by the 
government to abolish fixed minimum 
and maximum tariffs. (First draft law 
from the Ministry proposing abolition of 
tariffs did not get a political majority.) 
Italy: work group set up in Ministry to 
revise tariff scales for both private and 
public works. 
France: work underway to legally 
reinforce the requirement on lawyers to 
inform clients fully as to how services 
will be priced. 
Germany: tariffs for out of court work to 
be removed from 1/7/06. 
Italy: on 8/4/04 revised tariffs were 
adopted. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Profession 

Fixed prices as @ February 2004 

Minimum prices as @ February 2004  Maximum prices as @ February 2004 

Notaries 

Czech Republic 
Portugal 

Belgium (for certain services defined in 
law) 
Estonia 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Hungary 
Italy 
Latvia 
Lithuania 
Slovakia (for areas of work reserved to 
notaries and probate work only) 
Slovenia 
Spain (for certain services it is possible to 
negotiate a reduction of up to 10% on 
fees)  

Austria (for notarial acts only) 
Czech Republic 
Luxembourg (for notarial acts only) 
Malta 
Netherlands (for those on a low income 
and only in respect of family law) 
Poland 
Portugal 

Reforms  made  or  planned 
February 2004 

since 

Germany: work has begun to reform the 
fixed tariff system.  
Hungary: following on from the 
proposal of the NCA, the Ministry of 
Justice intends to replace fixed tariffs 
with maximum prices. 
Lithuania: the government intends to 
launch a discussion on the replacement of 
fixed tariffs with maximum prices. 
Slovakia: revised fixed tariffs were 
introduced in 2005 for some reserved 
areas of work by the Ministry of Justice. 
Slovenia: professional body has lost 
competence to propose tariffs and this 
has passed to the Ministry of Justice who 
also has final say on level of tariff.  

Source: National regulators responses to Commission questionnaire dated December 2004. Where responses were incomplete or not received information has been taken from the 2004 Report or the 
Stocktaking Report on the new EU Member States and the country name is shown in italics. Pharmacists are not included. 

EN 

32 
EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
Annex 3: Overview of countries and professions with recommended prices and reforms made during 2004/05 or planned  

Profession 

Recommended prices as @ February 2004 

Reforms made or planned since February 2004 

Accountancy/audit   Austria 
Greece 
Italy 
Portugal  
Slovakia 
Slovenia (for audit only) 
Slovakia 
Spain 

Tax Consultants 
(where this 
profession exists 
separately) 
Architects 

Austria 
Czech Republic 
Denmark 
Hungary 
Ireland 
Luxembourg 
Portugal (for public works only and are non-binding)  
Slovakia 
Spain  

Austria 
Czech Republic 
Hungary  
Italy (for those services not covered by fixed prices) 
Luxembourg  
Portugal (for public works only and are non-binding)  
Slovakia 
Slovenia 
Spain (for some types of engineering services only) 
Austria 
Denmark (for legal aid cases only) 
Greece (for legal consultancy services only) 
Latvia 

33 
EN 

Engineers 

Legal profession 

EN 

Slovakia: recommended prices were abolished from 1/1/05. 

Austria: from 12/04 recommended prices have become ‘guidelines’. 
Hungary: recommended minimum tariffs set by the professional body/chamber were 
modified to become ‘guidelines’ in 12/04. 
Ireland: the practice by the professional body of providing recommended fee tables 
ceased during the year following intervention by the NCA.  
Slovakia: recommended tariffs were abolished from 14/5/05. 
Slovenia: new recommended tariffs are currently under preparation by the professional 
body.  
UK: the professional body’s code was changed in 9/04 to allow architects to revise fee 
quotations to take into account fees quoted by other competing architects (this was 
formally forbidden) following intervention by the NCA. 
Austria: from 12/04 recommended prices have become guidelines. 
Slovakia: recommended tariffs were abolished from 1/1//05. 

Lithuania: recommended prices were abolished from 6/4/04 via an amendment to the 
Law on the Bar. 
Luxembourg: plans to link fees to results of work. 
Slovakia: revised recommended tariffs were introduced in 2005 by the Ministry of 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Profession 

Recommended prices as @ February 2004 

Reforms made or planned since February 2004 

Notaries 

Lithuania 
Luxembourg (list of criteria that must be taken into account to calculate price) 
Portugal (list of criteria that must be taken into account to calculate price) 
Slovakia (for use when agreement cannot be reached independently on price) 
Spain  
UK – Scotland (for general business by solicitors) 
Austria (for a small number of other services which are comparable in nature to 
those undertaken by lawyers) 
Belgium (for services where the price is not fixed) 
Portugal 
Slovakia (for other non-reserved areas) 
UK - England and Wales (for Notaries Public) 

Justice.  
UK-Scotland: under review by the Scottish Executive Working Party on the Legal 
Services Market in Scotland. As a result of the review, the Law Society of Scotland has 
agreed to withdraw price recommendations and to consult the NCA on a proposed 
alternative. 

UK: fee guidance was withdrawn by the Notaries Society – the professional body for UK 
Notaries Public, in March 2004 following intervention by the NCA. 

Source: National regulators responses to Commission questionnaire dated December 2004. Where responses were either incomplete or not received information has been taken from the 2004 Report, or 
the Stocktaking Report on the new EU Member States, and the country name is shown in italics. Pharmacists are not included. 

EN 

34 
EN 

 
 
 
 
 
Annex 4: Overview of countries and professions with advertising restrictions and reforms made during 2004/05 or planned  

Effective  prohibition  on  advertising 
as @ February 2004 

Some 
February 2004 

advertising 

restrictions  @ 

Reforms made or planned since February 2004 

Profession 

Accountancy 
/audit  

France 
Luxembourg (for audit) 
Portugal (for audit) 
Spain (for audit) 

Tax Consultants 
(where this 
profession exists 
separately) 
Architects 

Poland 

Cyprus  
Italy 

Engineers 

Cyprus  

Legal profession 

Estonia 
Greece 
Hungary 
Ireland (for barristers only) 
Lithuania 
Poland 
Portugal 

EN 

France: from 25/3/04 the law now allows personal informative advertising (cold calling 
and comparative advertising are still not permitted). Project also underway to modify the 
ethical code to relax advertising restrictions contained therein to allow ‘sollicitation’. 
Germany: review underway of rules of professional body on advertising with the aim of 
relaxing the restrictions. 

Ireland: professional body withdrew restrictions in 2004 following intervention by the 
NCA. 
Italy: ethical code was reviewed in 2004 to relax advertising restrictions contained therein 
in agreement with NCA.  

Ireland: restrictions have been removed following publication of the NCA’s report on 
engineers in 2004. 
Italy: there are plans to review the ethical code with the aim of relaxing the advertising 
restrictions contained therein 
Denmark: work is underway on legislation to remove the advertising restrictions. 
Estonia: consideration being given to amending the law to permit price lists to be 
published. 
France: project ‘décret’ underway to reform the ethical code so that lawyers will not have 
to get ex-ante authorisation from the professional body for the way they propose to 
advertise. The décret will also allow lawyers to publicise (provide information) on their 
services to prospective clients via for example a mail shot, but cold calling or canvassing 
will still not be allowed.  

Belgium  
Cyprus 
Czech Republic (for audit) 
Germany 
Greece  
Hungary (for audit) 
Italy 
Lithuania (for audit) 
Luxembourg 
Netherlands (for audit) 
Poland (for audit) 
Portugal (for non-audit) 
Slovenia (for audit) 
Germany  
Spain 

Belgium 
Greece 
Ireland 
Luxembourg  
Portugal  
Greece 
Ireland 
Italy 
Luxembourg 
Austria 
Belgium 
Cyprus 
Czech Republic 
Denmark 
France 
Germany  
Ireland (for solicitors) 

35 
EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Profession 

Effective  prohibition  on  advertising 
as @ February 2004 

Some 
February 2004 

advertising 

restrictions  @ 

Reforms made or planned since February 2004 

Italy 
Luxembourg 
Slovakia 
Slovenia 
Spain 
Sweden 
UK – Scotland (for solicitors only) 

Austria 
Germany 
Hungary 
UK – England and Wales (for Notaries 
Public) 

Germany: internal review underway of professional ethical rules by Federal Chamber of 
Lawyers, including advertising. 
Greece: new draft Lawyers Law has been proposed and the intention is to review rules on 
‘publicity’ (but not advertising) contained therein. 
Lithuania: new Law on the Bar relaxed the effective prohibition on advertising to allow 
some limited ‘publicity’ by lawyers e.g. via business cards. Promotional activities by an 
individual lawyer of their practice are still prohibited. 
Portugal: new law enacted in 2005 modifying the Statute of the Portuguese Bar relaxed 
the advertising rules to allow ‘publicity’ type activities if objective and lawful. 
UK – Scotland: restrictions are under review by the Scottish Executive Working Group 
on the Legal Services Market in Scotland. The Law Society of Scotland has agreed to 
review the advertising restrictions identified in the review and to consult the NCA on 
proposed alternatives. 
Italy: project to elaborate new ethical rules on the provision of information to the public.  

Austria 
Czech Republic 
Finland  
France (for non-prescription products 
only) 
Germany (advertising has to comply with 
professional rules) 
Malta 
Netherlands 

France: plans to ask the NCA for an opinion on the rules on advertising included in the 
professional body’s deontological code.  
Hungary: plans to review the law on advertising in the pharmaceutical area to bring them 
into line with the revised ethical code which has been reformed and the provisions on 
advertising revised to the satisfaction of the NCA.  
Luxembourg: plans to incorporate the professional guidelines on advertising into the 
ethical code and make them binding (i.e. the rules are about to become more restrictive). 

36 
EN 

Czech Republic 
Estonia 
France 
Greece 
Italy 
Latvia 
Lithuania 
Luxembourg 
Malta 
Poland 
Portugal 
Slovakia 
Slovenia 
Spain 
Cyprus 
France (for prescription only products) 
Greece 
Hungary (for prescription only 
products) 
Ireland 
Lithuania (for prescription only 
products) 
Luxembourg 

Notaries 

Pharmacists 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
Profession 

Effective  prohibition  on  advertising 
as @ February 2004 

Some 
February 2004 

advertising 

restrictions  @ 

Reforms made or planned since February 2004 

Portugal 
Spain 

Poland  
Slovenia 
Sweden 
UK 

Source: National regulators responses to Commission questionnaire dated December 2004. Where responses were either incomplete or not received information has been taken from the 2004 Report, or 
the Stocktaking Report on the new EU Member States, and the country name is shown in italics.  

EN 

37 
EN 

 
 
 
Annex 5: Cases opened by national competition authorities under the EC competition rules since February 2004 covering the six professions 
under study 

Fixed and recommended prices  Austria 

Architects and engineers 
(Austrian Builders Association) 

Country 

Profession 

Restriction 

Recommended prices 

Netherlands 

Netherlands 

Advertising restrictions 

Hungary 

Hungary 

Slovakia 

UK 

Lawyers 
(Dutch Bar Association) 
Pharmacies 
(Dutch Association of Pharmacy) 
Accountants  
(Hungarian Chamber of Accountants) 
Lawyers  
 (Hungarian Bar Association) 
Lawyers  
(Slovak Chamber of Advocates) 
Solicitors 
(The Law Society of Northern Ireland) 

Restrictions on fee agreements 

Recommended prices, market sharing 
and joint selling/buying agreements 
Advertising restrictions  

Advertising restrictions 

Advertising restrictions  

Advertising restrictions 

Business structure restrictions 

Germany 

Tax consultants 
(Federal Association of Tax Consultants) 

Collaborative restrictions 

Other 

UK 

UK 

Barristers 
(General Council of the Bar of England and 
Wales Mutual Indemnity Fund) 
Solicitors 
(Law Society of Scotland) 

Bar obligation on members to contribute 
to the Mutual Indemnity Fund for 
professional insurance 
Law Society requires members to 
purchase professional insurance from the 
Law Society’s Master Policy 

Case status 

It was found that the ‘non-binding’ 
recommended price scales were in fact 
binding in effect and contrary to Art.81. 
Decision by the Cartel Court that the 
Bundesinnung Bau (Austrian Builders 
Association) has to revoke the 
recommended price scale and change it into 
a guideline.  
Open  

Open  

Open 

Open 

Open 

Closed due to satisfactory voluntary 
resolution of the competition concerns by 
the Law Society. 
Closed in Feb 05 due to satisfactory 
voluntary resolution of the competition 
concerns by the Association. 
Closed in March 05 - insufficient evidence  

Closed in Feb 05 – insufficient evidence 

N.B. A further case has just been reported as being opened by the Czech Republic. This relates to advertising restrictions by the Czech Chamber of Pharmacists. 

EN 

38 
EN