CELEX: 51985PC0355
Language: en
Date: 1985-07-22
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON A GENERAL SYSTEM FOR THE RECOGNITION OF HIGHER EDUCATION DIPLOMAS

28.8.85                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                              N o C 217/3
                                                                II
                                                        (Preparatory Acts)
                                                  COMMISSION
               Proposal for a Council Directive on a general system for the recognition of higher education
                                                             diplomas
                                                       COM(85) 355 final
                                 (Submitted to the Council by the Commission on 9 July 1985)
                                                          (85/C 217/04)
 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                           completion of a course of studies lasting at least three
                                                                    years and issued in another Member State;
 Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
 Economic Community, and in particular Articles 49,
                                                                    Whereas the objective can be achieved by the intro-
 57 (1), and 66 thereof,
                                                                    duction of a general system for the recognition of higher
                                                                    education diplomas;
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
 Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-                  Whereas in relation to those professional activities in
 liament,                                                           respect of the pursuit of which the Community has not
                                                                    laid down the necessary minimum level of qualification,
 Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                   the Member States reserve the option of fixing such a
 Social Committee,                                                  level with a view to guaranteeing the quality of services
                                                                    provided in their territory; whereas, however, they may
                                                                    not, without infringing their obligations laid down in
 Whereas, pursuant to Article 3 (c) of the Treaty, the
                                                                    Article 5 of the Treaty, require a national of a Member
 abolition, as between Member States, of obstacles to
                                                                    State to obtain those qualifications which in general they
 freedom of movement for persons and services
                                                                    determine only by reference to diplomas issued under
 constitutes one of the objectives of the Community;
                                                                    their own national education systems, where the person
 whereas, for nationals of the Member States, this means
                                                                    concerned has already acquired all or part of those
 in particular the possibility of pursuing a professional
                                                                    qualifications in another Member State; whereas, as a
 activity, whether in a self-employed or employed
                                                                    result, any host Member State which regulates a pro-
 capacity, in a Member State other than that in which
                                                                    fessional activity is required to take account of
 they acquired their training;
                                                                    qualifications acquired in another Member State and to
                                                                    determine whether those qualifications correspond to the
 Whereas the provisions so far adopted by the Council               qualifications which the Member State concerned
 and pursuant to which the Member States recognize                  requires;
 mutually and for professional purposes higher education
 diplomas issued within their territory concern only a few
 professions; whereas the level and duration of the                 Whereas collaboration between the Member States is
 training governing access to those professions have been           appropriate in order to facilitate their compliance with
 regulated in a similar fashion in all the Member States or         those obligations; whereas, therefore, the means of
 have been the subject of the minimal harmonization                 organizing such collaboration should be established;
 needed to establish sectoral systems for the mutual
 recognition of diplomas;
                                                                    Whereas it is also necessary to determine the charac-
                                                                    teristics of the professional experience or supervised
 Whereas in order to provide a rapid response to the
                                                                    practice which the host Member State may require of the
 expectations of nationals of Community countries who
                                                                    person concerned in addition to the higher education
 hold higher education diplomas issued in a Member
                                                                    diploma, where the person's qualifications do not
 State other than that in which they wish to pursue their
                                                                    correspond to those laid down by national provisions;
.professional activity, another method of recognition of
 higher education diplomas should also be implemented
 such as to enable those concerned to pursue all those              Whereas, moreover, in addition to conditions relating to
 professional activities which in a host Member State are           the professional qualifications necessary to the pursuit of
 dependent on the possession of post-secondary education            a professional activity, conditions relating to personal
 qualifications, provided they hold a higher education              qualities such as good repute may be imposed if required
 diploma preparing them for those activities awarded on             in the host Member State;
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 217/4                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                  28. 8. 85
Whereas Articles 49, 57 (1) and 66 of the Treaty                                              Article 3
empower the Community to adopt provisions necessary
                                                                     A host Member State which makes the taking up or
to introduce and operate such a system for the general
                                                                     pursuit of a profession subject to possession of one or
recognition of higher education diplomas;
                                                                     more higher education diplomas shall not, on the
                                                                     grounds of inadequate qualifications, refuse to authorize
Whereas such a system, by supporting the right of a                  a national of another Member State to take up or pursue
Community national to use his professional skills in any             that profession on the same conditions as apply to its
Member State, supplements and supports his right to                  own nationals,
acquire such skills wherever he wishes;
                                                                     (a) if the applicant holds the higher education diploma
Whereas this system should, after being in force for a                   or diplomas required in another Member State for
certain time, be evaluated to determine in particular how                the taking up or pursuit of the profession in question
its operation can be improved and its field of application               in its territory, such diploma or diplomas having
extended,                                                                been awarded in a Member State, or,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:                                          (b) if the applicant has pursued the profession in
                                                                         question full-time for two years in another Member
                                                                         State which does not regulate that profession, having
                           Article 1                                     obtained in a Member State which does not regulate
                                                                         that profession one or more higher education
For the purposes of         this   Directive   the   following
                                                                         diplomas preparing him for its pursuit.
definitions shall apply:
(a) higher education diploma: any diploma, certificate, or
                                                                                              Article 4
     other evidence of formal qualifications awarded by a
     university or other higher education establishment              1.    Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 3, the
     following a course of at least three years' study               host Member State may also require the applicant:
     open, as a general rule, only to persons holding a
     certificate awarded on successful completion of a full
     course of upper secondary education;                            (a) to provide evidence of professional experience,
                                                                         where the duration of the higher education adduced
                                                                         in support of his application is at least one year less
(b) host Member State: any Member State in which a
                                                                         than that required in the host Member State. In this
     national of a Member State applies to pursue one or
                                                                         event, the period of professional experience may not
     more activities subject to regulation in that Member
                                                                         exceed twice the shortfall in duration of higher
     State, not being the State in which he obtained the
                                                                         education;
     higher education diplomas adduced in support of his
     application;
                                                                     (b) to undertake a period of supervised practice not
(c) professional experience: the knowledge acquired                      exceeding three years for the purposes of
     during actual and lawful pursuit of the profession                  qualification adjustment,
     concerned in a Member State;                                        — where the subjects covered by the higher
                                                                             education he has received differ substantially
(d) period of supervised practice for the purpose of                         from those covered by the higher education
     qualification adjustment: the pursuit of a profession in                diplomas required in the host Member State,
     the host Member State under the supervision of a                    — where, in the case referred to in Article 3 (a), the
     qualified member of that profession, it being                           profession as regulated in the host Member State
     understood that such supervised practice may be                         covers a range of professional activities differing
     accompanied by a period of further training and                         in part from those regulated in the Member State
     shall be subject to rules laid down by the host                         from which the applicant comes and that
     Member State.                                                           difference corresponds to a specific higher
                                                                             education programme required only in the host
                           Article 2                                         Member State,
                                                                         — where, in the case referred to in Article 3 (b), the
This Directive shall apply to any national of a Member                       profession as regulated in the host Member State
State wishing to pursue a profession in a host Member                        covers a range of professional activities differing
State as an employed person or in a self-employed                            in part from those pursued by the applicant in the
capacity.                                                                    Member State from which he comes, and that
                                                                             difference corresponds to a specific higher
This Directive shall not apply to professions which are                      education programme required in the host
the subject of a Directive establishing arrangements for                     Member State and not covered by the higher
the mutual recognition of higher education diplomas by                       education diploma or diplomas adduced by the
Member States.                                                               applicant;
 ---pagebreak--- 28.8.85                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                              N o C 217/5
(c) to undergo the period of supervised practice required          failing this, an equivalent certificate issued        by   a
     in the host Member State, or provide evidence of              competent authority in that other Member State.
     having completed in another Member State a period
     of professional experience equal in duration to that
     required period of supervised practice where the host         3.    The documents and certificates referred to in
     Member State makes the taking up or pursuit of a              paragraphs 1 and 2 may not be presented more than
     profession subject to possession of a certificate             three months after their date of issue.
     awarded on completion of a period of supervised
     practice undergone after the required higher
                                                                   4.    Where a Member State requires its own nationals
     education diplomas have been obtained.
                                                                   wishing to take up or pursue a profession to take an oath
                                                                   or make a solemn declaration and where the form of
2.     The host Member State shall, however:                       such oath or declaration cannot be used by nationals of
                                                                   other Member States, that Member State shall ensure
                                                                   that an appropriate and equivalent form of oath or
— neither apply cumulatively the provisions of points (a)          declaration is offered to the person concerned.
    and (b) of paragraph 1,
— nor require a total period of supervised practice                                          Article 7
    exceeding four years where it applies cumulatively
    the provisions of points (b) and (c) of paragraph 1.           1.    Host Member States shall recognize the right of
                                                                   nationals of Member States who fulfil the conditions for
                                                                   the taking up and pursuit of a profession in their
                                                                   territory to use their lawful academic title and, where
                         Article 5
                                                                   appropriate, the abbreviation thereof. If the said
The provisions of Article 3 and Article 4 (1) (b) and (c)          academic title can be confused with an academic title
shall also apply where the host Member State makes the             conferred in the host Member State, the latter may
taking up or pursuit of a profession subject to possession         require that it be followed by the name and location of
of one or more diplomas which are not higher education             the establishment or examining board which awarded it.
diplomas within the meaning of this Directive but are
awarded on completion of a course of study open as a
general rule only to persons holding a certificate                 2.    Host Member States shall recognize the right of
awarded on successful completion of a full course of               nationals of Member States who fulfil the conditions for
upper secondary education.                                         the taking up and pursuit of a profession in their
                                                                   territory to use the same professional title as their own
                                                                   nationals.
                         Article 6
1.     Where a host Member State requires of its                                             Article 8
nationals wishing to take up or pursue a profession proof
of good character, proof of good repute, proof that they           1.    Proof that the conditions laid down in Articles 3, 4
have not previously been declared bankrupt or proof of             and 6 are satisfied shall be established by the certificates
any one of these, that State shall accept as sufficient            and documents issued by the competent authorities in the
evidence, in respect of nationals of other Member States,          Member States, which the person concerned shall submit
the production of an extract from the 'judicial record'            in support of his application to pursue the profession
or, failing this, an equivalent document issued by a               concerned in the host Member State.
competent judicial or administrative authority in another
Member State showing that those requirements are met.
                                                                   2.    The procedure for examining an application to
                                                                   pursue a profession shall be completed as soon as
Where the Member State from which the foreign                      possible and the outcome communicated in a reasoned
national comes does not issue the documents referred to            decision of the competent authority in the host Member
in the preceding paragraph, they may be replaced by a              State not later than three months after presentation of all
declaration on oath — or, in States where there is no              the documents relating to the person concerned, without
provision for such declarations, by a solemn declaration           prejudice to delays resulting from any appeal that may
— made before a competent judicial or administrative               be made upon the termination of that procedure.
authority or, where appropriate, a notary in the host
country.
                                                                                             Article 9
2.     Where a host Member State requires of its own               1.    The Member State shall designate, within the
nationals wishing to take up or pursue a profession a              period provided for in Article 11, the competent auth-
certificate of physical or mental health, that State shall         orities empowered to receive the applications and take
accept as sufficient evidence thereof, in respect of               the decisions referred to in this Directive. They shall
nationals of another Member State, the production of               communicate this information to the other Member
the document required in that other Member State or,               States and to the Commission.
 ---pagebreak---  No C 217/6                            Official Journal of the European Communities                         -             28.8.85
2. Each Member State shall designate a person                     — references to such decisions and, in particular, the
responsible for coordinating the activities of the auth-               date thereof,
orities referred to in paragraph 3. His role shall be to          — the professional activity concerned,
ensure the uniform application of this Directive to all the
professional activities concerned.                                — the diplomas concerned,
Each Member State shall inform the other Member                   — the Member States concerned, other than the host
States and the Commission to this effect. The                          Member State,
Commission shall take the necessary initiatives to help           — the content of each decision.
the coordinators to carry out their duties.
                                                                                             Ankle 11
3. The Member State shall take measures to enable
each information centre on the academic recognition of            Member States shall take the measures necessary to
diplomas and periods of study established by the                  comply with this Directive by                 (2). They shall
Member States within the framework of the resolution of           forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
the Council and the ministers of education meeting
                                                                  Member States shall communicate to the Commission
within the Council of 9 February 1976 (*) also to provide
                                                                  the texts of the main provisions of national law in the
the necessary information on the recognition of diplomas
                                                                  field governed by this Directive.
for professional purposes.
The Commission shall take the necessary initiatives to                                       Article 12
ensure the development and coordination of those
                                                                  Five years at the latest following the date specified in
activities of the centres which come within the field of
                                                                  Article 11, the Commission shall report to the Council
application of this Directive.
                                                                  on the state of application of the general system for the
                                                                  recognition of higher education diplomas.
                         Article 10
                                                                  After conducting all necessary consultations, the
Following the expiry of the period provided for in                Commission shall, on this occasion, present its
Article 11, the Member States shall communicate to the            conclusions as to any changes that need to be made to
Commission, every two years, a report on the application          the system as it stands.
of the system introduced.
                                                                                            Article 13
In addition to general remarks, this report shall contain a
summary of the decisions taken, including in particular:          This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
O OJ No C 38, 19. 2. 1976, p. 1.                                  (2) To be determined later (within 12 months of notification).