CELEX: 62006CJ0311
Language: en
Date: 2009-01-29 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 29 January 2009.#Consiglio Nazionale degli Ingegneri v Ministero della Giustizia and Marco Cavallera.#Reference for a preliminary ruling: Consiglio di Stato - Italy.#Recognition of diplomas - Directive 89/48/EEC - Homologation of an educational qualification - Engineer.#Case C-311/06.

Case C-311/06
      Consiglio Nazionale degli Ingegneri
      v
      Ministero della Giustizia
      and
      Marco Cavallera
      (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Consiglio di Stato)
      (Recognition of diplomas – Directive 89/48/EEC – Homologation of an educational qualification – Engineer)
      Summary of the Judgment
      Freedom of movement for persons – Freedom of establishment – Workers – Recognition of higher-education diplomas awarded on
            completion of professional education and training of at least three years’ duration – Directive 89/48
      (Council Directive 89/48, Art. 1(a))
      The provisions of Directive 89/48 on a general system for the recognition of higher-education diplomas awarded on completion
         of professional education and training of at least three years’ duration cannot be relied on, for the purpose of gaining access
         to a regulated profession in a host Member State, by the holder of a certificate issued by an authority of another Member
         State which does not attest any education or training covered by the education system of that Member State and is not based
         on either an examination taken or professional experience acquired in that Member State.
      
      Directive 89/48 seeks to remove obstacles to the pursuit of a profession in a Member State other than that which issued the
         diploma establishing the professional qualifications concerned. It is clear from the first, third and fifth recitals in the
         preamble to that directive that a certificate attesting professional qualifications cannot be treated in the same way as a
         ‘diploma’ for the purposes of that directive unless those qualifications were acquired, wholly or in part, under the education
         system of the Member State which issued the certificate in question. Furthermore, a diploma facilitates the taking-up or pursuit
         of a profession in so far as it proves the possession of an additional qualification.
      
      To accept, in the case where homologation obtained in another Member State which does not provide evidence of any additional
         qualification and where neither homologation nor enrolment in the register of a professional body in that Member State was
         based on an examination of the qualifications or professional experience acquired by an applicant, that Directive 89/48 may
         be relied on in order to secure access to a regulated profession in the State of origin would be tantamount to allowing a
         person who has merely obtained a qualification awarded by that Member State which does not in itself provide access to that
         regulated profession none the less to gain access to that profession, without the homologation certificate obtained in the
         other Member State providing evidence that the holder has acquired an additional qualification or professional experience.
         Such a result would be contrary to the principle enshrined by Directive 89/48 and set out in the fifth recital in its preamble,
         according to which Member States reserve the option of fixing the minimum level of qualification necessary to guarantee the
         quality of services provided in their territory.
      
      (see paras 55-57, 59, operative part)
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Second Chamber)
      29 January 2009 (*)
      
      (Recognition of diplomas – Directive 89/48/EEC – Homologation of an educational qualification – Engineer)
      In Case C‑311/06,
      REFERENCE for a preliminary ruling under Article 234 EC from the Consiglio di Stato (Italy), made by decision of 28 February
         2006, received at the Court on 17 July 2006, in the proceedings
      
      Consiglio Nazionale degli Ingegneri
      v
      Ministero della Giustizia,
      Marco Cavallera,
      THE COURT (Second Chamber),
      composed of C.W.A. Timmermans, President of the Chamber, J.‑C. Bonichot, K. Schiemann (Rapporteur), J. Makarczyk and L. Bay
         Larsen, Judges,
      
      Advocate General: M. Poiares Maduro,
      Registrar: L. Hewlett, Principal Administrator,
      having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 13 September 2007,
      after considering the observations submitted on behalf of:
      –        the Consiglio Nazionale degli Ingegneri, by A. Romei, avvocato,
      –        the Italian Government, by I.M. Braguglia, acting as Agent, and S. Fiorentino, avvocato dello Stato,
      –        the Belgian Government, by L. Van den Broeck, acting as Agent,
      –        the Czech Government, initially by T. Boček, and subsequently by M. Smolek, acting as Agents,
      –        the Greek Government, by E. Skandalou, acting as Agent,
      –        the Cypriot Government, by C. Lycourgos and I. Neofitou, acting as Agents,
      –        the Austrian Government, by C. Pesendorfer, acting as Agent,
      –        the Swedish Government, by A. Falk and A. Kruse, acting as Agents,
      –        the Commission of the European Communities, by H. Støvlbæk and E. Montaguti, acting as Agents,
      after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 28 February 2008,
      gives the following
      Judgment
      1        This reference for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Council Directive 89/48/EEC of 21 December 1988 on
         a general system for the recognition of higher-education diplomas awarded on completion of professional education and training
         of at least three years’ duration (OJ 1989 L 19, p. 16).
      
      2        The reference has been made in the course of proceedings between the Consiglio Nazionale degli Ingegneri (National Council
         of Engineers) and the Ministero della Giustizia (Ministry of Justice) concerning the recognition by the latter, for the benefit
         of Mr Cavallera, an Italian national, of a Spanish engineering diploma acquired by homologation of an Italian educational
         qualification for the purpose of Mr Cavallera’s registration in the Register of Engineers in Italy.
      
       Legal background
       Community legislation
      3        The first recital in the preamble to Directive 89/48 is worded as follows:
      
      ‘… pursuant to Article 3(c) of the Treaty the abolition, as between Member States, of obstacles to freedom of movement for
         persons and services constitutes one of the objectives of the Community; … for nationals of the Member States, this means
         in particular the possibility of pursuing a profession, whether in a self-employed or employed capacity, in a Member State
         other than that in which they acquired their professional qualifications’.
      
      4        The third recital in the preamble to that directive states:
      
      ‘… in order to provide a rapid response to the expectations of nationals of Community countries who hold higher-education
         diplomas awarded on completion of professional education and training issued in a Member State other than that in which they
         wish to pursue their profession, another method of recognition of such diplomas should also be put in place such as to enable
         those concerned to pursue all those professional activities which in a host Member State are dependent on the completion of
         post-secondary education and training, provided they hold such a diploma preparing them for those activities awarded on completion
         of a course of studies lasting at least three years and issued in another Member State’.
      
      5        The fifth recital in the preamble to Directive 89/48 reads:
      
      ‘… for those professions for the pursuit of which the Community has not laid down the necessary minimum level of qualification,
         Member States reserve the option of fixing such a level with a view to guaranteeing the quality of services provided in their
         territory; … however, they may not, without infringing their obligations laid down in Article 5 of the Treaty, require a national
         of a Member State to obtain those qualifications which in general they determine only by reference to diplomas issued under
         their own national education systems, where the person concerned has already acquired all or part of those qualifications
         in another Member State; … as a result, any host Member State in which a profession is regulated is required to take account
         of qualifications acquired in another Member State and to determine whether those qualifications correspond to the qualifications
         which the Member State concerned requires’.
      
      6        Article 1(a) and (b) of Directive 89/48 provides:
      
      ‘For the purposes of this Directive the following definitions shall apply:
      (a)       diploma: any diploma, certificate or other evidence of formal qualifications or any set of such diplomas, certificates or
         other evidence:
      
      –        which has been awarded by a competent authority in a Member State, designated in accordance with its own laws, regulations
         or administrative provisions;
      
      –        which shows that the holder has successfully completed a post-secondary course of at least three years’ duration, or of an
         equivalent duration part-time, at a university or establishment of higher education or another establishment of similar level
         and, where appropriate, that he has successfully completed the professional training required in addition to the post-secondary
         course, and
      
      –        which shows that the holder has the professional qualifications required for the taking up or pursuit of a regulated profession
         in that Member State,
      
      provided that the education and training attested by the diploma, certificate or other evidence of formal qualifications were
         received mainly in the Community, or the holder thereof has three years’ professional experience certified by the Member State
         which recognised a third-country diploma, certificate or other evidence of formal qualifications.
      
      The following shall be treated in the same way as a diploma, within the meaning of the first subparagraph: any diploma, certificate
         or other evidence of formal qualifications or any set of such diplomas, certificates or other evidence awarded by a competent
         authority in a Member State if it is awarded on the successful completion of education and training received in the Community
         and recognised by a competent authority in that Member State as being of an equivalent level and if it confers the same rights
         in respect of the taking-up and pursuit of a regulated profession in that Member State;
      
      (b)      host Member State: any Member State in which a national of a Member State applies to pursue a profession subject to regulation
         in that Member State, other than the State in which he obtained his diploma or first pursued the profession in question’.
      
      7        In the Italian and Hungarian versions only, Article 1(b) of Directive 89/48 refers to a national ‘of another Member State’
         (‘di un altro Stato membro’/‘egy másik tagállam’), instead of a national ‘of a Member State’.
      
      8        The first paragraph of Article 2 of Directive 89/48 states:
      
      ‘This Directive shall apply to any national of a Member State wishing to pursue a regulated profession in a host Member State
         in a self-employed capacity or as an employed person.’
      
      9        In the German and Hungarian versions only, the first paragraph of Article 2 of the directive refers to the pursuit of a regulated
         profession ‘in another Member State’ (‘in einem anderen Mitgliedstaat’/‘egy másik tagállamban’), instead of the pursuit of
         a regulated profession ‘in a host Member State’.
      
      10      Point (a) of the first paragraph of Article 3 of Directive 89/48 provides:
      
      ‘Where, in a host Member State, the taking-up or pursuit of a regulated profession is subject to possession of a diploma,
         the competent authority may not, on the grounds of inadequate qualifications, refuse to authorise a national of a Member State
         to take up or pursue that profession on the same conditions as apply to its own nationals:
      
      (a)      if the applicant holds the diploma required in another Member State for the taking-up or pursuit of the profession in question
         in its territory, such diploma having been awarded in a Member State …’.
      
      11      In the Italian, Spanish and Slovene versions only, the first paragraph of Article 3 of that directive refers to a refusal
         directed against a national of ‘another Member State’ (‘di un altro Stato membro’/‘de otro Estado miembro’/‘druge države članice’),
         rather than a refusal directed against a national of ‘a Member State’.
      
      12      Furthermore, in the Italian and Slovene versions only, point (a) of the first paragraph of Article 3 of that directive refers
         to a diploma which was awarded ‘in another Member State’ (‘in un altro Stato membro’/‘drugi državi članici’), instead of a
         diploma which was awarded ‘in a Member State’.
      
      13      Notwithstanding Article 3 of Directive 89/48, Article 4 thereof enables a host Member State to require an applicant, under
         certain conditions, to provide evidence of professional experience of a certain length, to complete an adaptation period not
         exceeding three years, or to take an aptitude test. Article 4 also lays down a number of rules and conditions applicable to
         the compensatory measures which may be required in order to remedy insufficiencies in the education and training relied on
         by the applicant.
      
       National legislation
       Regulation of the engineering profession in Spain and Italy
      14      The engineering profession is a regulated profession in both Spain and Italy.
      
      –       The education and training systems and the conditions governing access to the engineering profession
      15      The Italian and Spanish education and training systems are similar as regards qualifications in the field of engineering.
         In both those Member States such qualifications may be obtained after a post-secondary course of three or five years.
      
      16      In Italy, university diplomas obtained after three years of study (‘laurea triennale’) are awarded on completion of junior
         engineer (‘ingegnere junior’) education and training.
      
      17      The taking-up of the profession of junior engineer is conditional on possession of the requisite university diploma and on
         success in the State examination (‘esame di Stato’) corresponding to the profession concerned (Article 4 of Royal Decree No
         2537 of 23 October 1925 (Gazzetta ufficiale No 37 of 15 February 1926)). According to Articles 47 and 48 of Decree No 328 of the President of the Republic of 5 June
         2001 (Ordinary Supplement to the GURI No 190 of 17 August 2001), this State examination must include at least two written
         tests, an oral test and a practical test. Candidates who have been successful in the State examination are granted entitlement
         to pursue the profession of engineer (‘abilitazione all’esercizio della professione di ingegnere’).
      
      18      In Spain, university diplomas awarded after three years of studies lead to the qualification of technical engineer (‘ingeniero
         técnico’).
      
      19      Spanish legislation on university diplomas draws a distinction between two types of diplomas, namely ‘official diplomas’,
         the validity of which is recognised throughout the national territory and which give access to the regulated professions,
         and ‘own diplomas’, which the various universities have the option of awarding but which, in particular, do not give access
         to the regulated professions. This matter is governed by Framework Law 6/2001 of 21 December 2001 relating to universities
         (BOE No 307 of 24 December 2001, p. 49400).
      
      20      In Spain, access to the profession of technical engineer is in principle subject to the possession of an official university
         diploma, within the meaning of Framework Law 6/2001, corresponding to the profession concerned. 
      
      21      Both in Italy and in Spain, pursuit of the profession of engineer also requires registration in the register of a professional
         body. In Italy, a register of engineers is maintained in each province by the Consiglio dell’Ordine degli Ingegneri (Council
         of the Order of Engineers). That register is divided into two sections, Section B being reserved for junior engineers. In
         Spain, depending on the specialisations and regions, different ‘colegios de ingenieros’ (associations of engineers) are competent.
         In both Member States, registration in the register of an association of engineers constitutes a simple administrative step
         which does not of itself provide evidence as to the professional qualifications of the persons concerned, but is designed
         to ensure that the pursuit of the profession observes certain ethical standards.
      
      –       The profession of mechanical engineer in Italy
      22      Persons wishing to pursue the profession of mechanical engineer in Italy must normally hold a university diploma of mechanical
         engineering (‘laurea in ingegneria meccanica’), awarded on completion of three years’ education and training, and entitlement
         to pursue the profession of engineer awarded after they have passed the State examination. Furthermore, such persons must
         be registered in the register of engineers in a province, in Section B, Industrial Sector.
      
      –       The profession of industrial technical engineer, specialising in mechanical engineering, in Spain
      23      In Spain, persons wishing to pursue the profession of industrial technical engineer, specialising in mechanical engineering
         (‘ingeniero técnico industrial, especialidad mecánica’) must normally hold an official university diploma, within the meaning
         of Framework Law 6/2001, of industrial technical engineer, specialising in mechanical engineering. The technical engineering
         diploma is awarded after three years’ studies. Furthermore, such persons must be registered in the register of the ‘Colegio
         de ingenieros técnicos industriales’ (Professional Association of technical industrial engineers).
      
       The recognition procedure in Italy
      24      In Italy, Legislative Decree No 115 of 27 January 1992 (GURI No 40 of 18 February 1992) (‘Legislative Decree No 115/1992’)
         is intended to transpose Directive 89/48 into national law.
      
      25      Article 1 of Legislative Decree No 115/1992, entitled ‘Recognition of educational qualifications obtained in the European
         Community’, provides:
      
      ‘1. Qualifications awarded by a Member State of the European Community as evidence of professional training, the possession
         of which is a condition for the pursuit of a profession under the legislation of that State, shall be recognised in Italy
         subject to the conditions laid down in this decree.
      
      2. Recognition is granted to Community nationals for the purpose of pursuing in Italy, in a self-employed capacity or as an
         employed person, the profession corresponding to that which they are authorised to pursue in the country that awarded the
         qualifications referred to in the preceding paragraph.
      
      3. Qualifications are eligible for recognition if they include a statement that the applicant has successfully completed a
         post-secondary course of at least three years’ duration (or of an equivalent duration part-time) at a university or establishment
         of higher education or another establishment of similar level.’
      
      26      According to the Consiglio di Stato (Council of State), Legislative Decree No 115/1992 does not authorise recognition of a
         diploma awarded in another Member State on the basis of an Italian educational qualification. That court states that, pursuant
         to Article 1(3) of that legislative decree, the foreign diploma must attest that the applicant has completed a course of study,
         which means that there must be an immediate relationship between the qualification and the course of study, and that the latter
         must be directly attested by the diploma. Moreover, that provision cannot apply to a diploma from another Member State which
         attests, in reality, to the existence of an Italian educational qualification.
      
       The homologation procedure in Spain
      27      Under Spanish law, the procedure for homologation of university diplomas must be distinguished from the procedure governing
         the recognition of professional qualifications laid down by Royal Decree 1665/1991 of 25 October 1991 regulating the general
         system for the recognition of higher education diplomas issued in the Member States of the European Union which require at
         least three years’ education and training (BOE No 208 of 22 November 1991, p. 37916), intended to transpose Directive 89/48
         into the Spanish legal system. Homologation is an examination of the academic content, in terms of knowledge, of the studies
         undertaken in order to obtain a diploma.
      
      28      Until 4 September 2004, the procedure governing homologation of foreign university qualifications was governed in Spain by
         Royal Decree 86/1987 of 16 January 1987 (BOE No 20 of 23 January 1987) and by the legislation adopted pursuant to the latter.
      
      29      The concept of homologation was defined in Article 1 of Royal Decree 86/1987. According to that provision, homologation involves
         recognition in Spain of the official validity, for academic purposes, of higher education diplomas acquired abroad.
      
      30      It is clear from Article 2 of Royal Decree 86/1987 that, even if the homologation of foreign diplomas does not necessarily
         require additional examinations to be passed in cases where the education and training evidenced by the foreign diploma is
         not equivalent to that evidenced by the corresponding Spanish diploma, homologation may be conditional on the successful completion
         of tests on the knowledge required in Spain in order to obtain the diploma.
      
      31      Under Article 3 of Royal Decree 86/1987, the homologation procedure applies only to official studies. Other education which
         is provided by universities and does not have that characteristic is therefore excluded from the scope of Royal Decree 86/1987.
      
      32      If granted, homologation confers on a foreign diploma the same effects as those attached to the equivalent Spanish diploma
         or university degree.
      
       The dispute in the main proceedings and the questions referred for a preliminary ruling
      33      Mr Cavallera, an Italian national, is the holder of a mechanical engineering qualification awarded on 9 March 1999 by the
         University of Turin (Italy) after three years’ education and training.
      
      34      Mr Cavallera applied in Spain for homologation of his Italian qualification by the Ministry for Education and Sciences, with
         a view to having that Italian qualification treated as equivalent to the corresponding Spanish university title pursuant to
         the provisions of Royal Decree 86/1987. On 17 October 2001, that ministry accredited Mr Cavallera’s Italian qualification
         in order that that qualification might be treated as equivalent to that of a Spanish industrial technical engineer, specialising
         in mechanical engineering.
      
      35      Mr Cavallera is therefore entitled to pursue the regulated profession of industrial technical engineer, specialising in mechanical
         engineering, in Spain. On the basis of the certificate attesting homologation of his Italian qualification, Mr Cavallera enrolled
         in the register of one of the ‘colegios de ingenieros técnicos industriales’ in Catalonia.
      
      36      It is, however, common ground that Mr Cavallera has not worked outside Italy and that he has not followed any course of study
         or taken any examinations under the Spanish education system. Likewise, it is common ground that he has not taken the State
         examination provided for under Italian legislation for the purpose of being entitled to pursue the profession of engineer.
      
      37      By application of 6 March 2002 Mr Cavallera sought from the Ministero della Giustizia (Ministry of Justice) in Italy recognition
         of his Spanish certificate pursuant to Legislative Decree No 115/1992, in order to enable him to enrol in Italy in the Register
         of Engineers.
      
      38      In accordance with Italian law, that application was subject to the opinion of a board of enquiry, which decided by a majority
         to grant the application, although the representative of the Consiglio Nazionale degli Ingegneri (National Council of Engineers),
         a member of that board, voted against it.
      
      39      By decree of 23 October 2002, the Ministero della Giustizia recognised the validity of Mr Cavallera’s Spanish certificate
         for the purpose of his enrolment in the register of engineers (Section B, industrial sector). On the basis of that decree,
         Mr Cavallera was enrolled in the register of the association of engineers in the city of Alessandria (Italy), where he resides.
      
      40      The Consiglio Nazionale degli Ingegneri challenged that ministerial decree before the Tribunale amministrativo regionale per
         il Lazio (Regional Administrative Court for the Region of Lazio) (Italy), submitting that, under Directive 89/48 and the relevant
         national legislation, the Italian authorities could not recognise Mr Cavallera’s Spanish certificate, since such recognition
         would have the effect of dispensing him from the State examination required under Italian law.
      
      41      By judgment of 5 October 2004, that court dismissed the action brought by the Consiglio Nazionale degli Ingegneri, holding
         that the Ministero della Giustizia had acted lawfully. The Consiglio Nazionale degli Ingegneri then appealed against that
         judgment to the Consiglio di Stato (Italy).
      
      42      The Consiglio di Stato takes the view that Directive 89/48 does not apply to Mr Cavallera’s situation because he has not obtained
         a diploma, within the meaning of Article 1(a) of Directive 89/48, in Spain and bases his application entirely on Italian qualifications.
         The Consiglio di Stato nevertheless has doubts in that respect.
      
      43      In those circumstances, the Consiglio di Stato decided to stay its proceedings and to refer the following questions to the
         Court for a preliminary ruling:
      
      ‘(1)      Does Directive 89/48/EEC apply to an Italian national who: 
      –        obtained a three-year degree in engineering in Italy; 
      –        obtained recognition of the Italian qualification as being equivalent to the corresponding Spanish qualification; 
      –        obtained registration in the Spanish register of engineers but never pursued that profession in Spain; [and]
      –        applied, on the basis of the Spanish recognition of equivalence, for registration in the register of engineers in Italy?
      (2)      If the answer to the first question is in the affirmative, is a domestic provision (Article 1 of Legislative Decree [No 115
         of 1992]) that does not permit recognition in Italy of a qualification of a Member State which in turn is exclusively the
         result of recognition of a previous Italian qualification compatible with Directive 89/48/EEC?’
      
       The questions referred for a preliminary ruling
      44      By its first question, the referring court asks essentially whether the provisions of Directive 89/48 may be relied on, for
         the purpose of gaining entry to a regulated profession in a host Member State, by the holder of a certificate issued by an
         authority of another Member State which does not attest any education and training covered by the education system of that
         Member State and is not based on either an examination or professional experience acquired in the latter.
      
      45      In order to answer that question it is necessary to examine whether the recognition of a certificate such as that at issue
         in the main proceedings comes within the scope of Directive 89/48.
      
      46      Subject to the provisions of Article 4 of Directive 89/48, point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 3 thereof gives
         any applicant who holds a ‘diploma’, within the meaning of that directive, enabling him to pursue a regulated profession in
         a Member State, the right to pursue that profession in any other Member State. The concept of ‘diploma’, defined in Article
         1(a) of Directive 89/48, is thus the cornerstone of the general system governing the recognition of higher-education diplomas
         laid down by that directive.
      
      47      With regard to the qualifications relied on by Mr Cavallera, it must be recalled, first of all, that a ‘diploma’, within the
         meaning of Article 1(a) of Directive 89/48, may consist of a set of qualifications.
      
      48      Next, the condition laid down in the first indent of Article 1(a) of Directive 89/48 is satisfied, so far as concerns the
         qualifications relied on by Mr Cavallera, in that each of those qualifications was awarded by a competent authority, designated
         respectively in accordance with Italian and Spanish legislation.
      
      49      So far as concerns the condition laid down in the second indent of Article 1(a) of Directive 89/48, it is evident from the
         file sent to the Court that Mr Cavallera satisfies the condition that the holder must have successfully completed a post-secondary
         course of at least three years’ duration at a university. That fact is expressly evidenced by the degree certificate which
         was awarded to him by the University of Turin.
      
      50      Furthermore, as regards the condition laid down in the third indent of Article 1(a) of Directive 89/48, it follows from the
         homologation certificate issued by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science that Mr Cavallera has the professional qualifications
         required to take up a regulated profession in Spain. Even if it were to be assumed that that does not follow expressly from
         the certificate, it is clearly established by Mr Cavallera’s enrolment in the register of the competent professional body
         in Spain.
      
      51      It remains to be determined whether, given that the homologation certificate which Mr Cavallera relies on was not awarded
         in respect of any education or training covered by the Spanish education system and is not based on either an examination
         taken or professional experience acquired in Spain, the set of qualifications which he possesses may nevertheless be regarded
         as a ‘diploma’ within the meaning of Directive 89/48 or may be treated in the same way as such a diploma under the second
         paragraph of Article 1(a) of Directive 89/48.
      
      52      In that context, the arguments relied on by the Consiglio Nazionale degli Ingegneri and by the Italian and Austrian Governments,
         based on the wording of certain language versions of Directive 89/48, which differ in places, as has been noted in paragraphs
         7, 9, 11 and 12 of this judgment, from other language versions by mentioning the words ‘another Member State’ whereas the
         large majority of language versions simply contain the words ‘Member State’ or ‘host Member State’, cannot be accepted.
      
      53      In that connection, it is clear from settled case-law that the need for an application, and hence a uniform interpretation,
         of the provisions of Community law makes it impossible, in cases of doubt, for the text of a provision to be considered in
         isolation in one of its versions, but requires, on the contrary, that it should be interpreted and applied in the light of
         the versions existing in the other official languages (Case 29/69 Stauder [1969] ECR 419, paragraph 3; Case C‑296/95 EMU Tabac and Others [1998] ECR I-1605, paragraph 36; and Case C‑174/05 Zuid-Hollandse Milieufederatie and Natuur en Milieu [2006] ECR I‑2443, paragraph 20).
      
      54      Furthermore, while it has been held that Directive 89/48 does not contain any limitation as regards the Member State in which
         an applicant must have acquired his professional qualifications (Case C‑274/05 Commission v Greece [2008] ECR I-0000, paragraph 28, and Case C-286/06 Commission v Spain [2008] ECR I‑0000, paragraph 62), that case-law nonetheless establishes a distinction between the geographical place in which
         education and training take place and the education system to which these belong. In those judgments, the parties concerned
         had pursued education and training covered by an education system other than that of the Member State in which they sought
         to rely on their professional qualifications.
      
      55      Directive 89/48 seeks to remove obstacles to the pursuit of a profession in a Member State other than that which issued the
         diploma establishing the professional qualifications concerned. It is clear from the first, third and fifth recitals in the
         preamble to that directive that a certificate attesting professional qualifications cannot be treated in the same way as a
         ‘diploma’ for the purposes of that directive unless those qualifications were acquired, wholly or in part, under the education
         system of the Member State which issued the certificate in question. The Court has also stated that a diploma facilitates
         the taking-up or pursuit of a profession in so far as it proves the possession of an additional qualification (see, to that
         effect, Case C-19/92 Kraus [1993] ECR I-1663, paragraphs 18 to 23, and Case C-285/01 Burbaud [2003] ECR I-8219, paragraphs 47 to 53).
      
      56      The Spanish homologation does not provide evidence of any additional qualification. In that connection, neither homologation
         nor enrolment in the register of one of the ‘colegios de ingenieros técnicos industriales’ in Catalonia was based on an examination
         of the qualifications or professional experience acquired by Mr Cavallera.
      
      57      To accept, in such circumstances, that Directive 89/48 may be relied on in order to secure access to the regulated profession
         at issue in the main proceedings in Italy would be tantamount to allowing a person who has merely obtained a qualification
         awarded by that Member State which does not in itself provide access to that regulated profession none the less to gain access
         to that profession, without the homologation certificate obtained in Spain providing evidence that the holder has acquired
         an additional qualification or professional experience. Such a result would be contrary to the principle enshrined by Directive
         89/48 and set out in the fifth recital in its preamble, according to which Member States reserve the option of fixing the
         minimum level of qualification necessary to guarantee the quality of services provided in their territory.
      
      58      It follows from all of the foregoing that Article 1(a) of Directive 89/48 must be interpreted as meaning that the definition
         of the concept of ‘diploma’ set out therein does not include a certificate issued by a Member State which does not attest
         any education or training covered by the education system of that Member State and is not based on either an examination taken
         or professional experience acquired in that Member State.
      
      59      Accordingly, the answer to the first question is that the provisions of Directive 89/48 cannot be relied on, for the purpose
         of gaining access to a regulated profession in a host Member State, by the holder of a certificate issued by an authority
         of another Member State which does not attest any education or training covered by the education system of that Member State
         and is not based on either an examination taken or professional experience acquired in that Member State.
      
      60      In the light of the answer to the first question, there is no need to answer the second question.
      
       Costs
      61      Since these proceedings are, for the parties to the main proceedings, a step in the action pending before the national court,
         the decision on costs is a matter for that court. Costs incurred in submitting observations to the Court, other than the costs
         of those parties, are not recoverable.
      
      On those grounds, the Court (Second Chamber) hereby rules:
      The provisions of Council Directive 89/48/EEC of 21 December 1988 on a general system for the recognition of higher-education
            diplomas awarded on completion of professional education and training of at least three years’ duration cannot be relied on,
            for the purpose of gaining access to a regulated profession in a host Member State, by the holder of a certificate issued
            by an authority of another Member State which does not attest any education or training covered by the education system of
            that Member State and is not based on either an examination taken or professional experience acquired in that Member State.
      [Signatures]
      * Language of the case: Italian.