Directive 2005/36/EC

Contents

Directive 2005/36/EC is a legislative act of the European Union establishing a framework for the recognition of professional qualifications across member states, integrating rules affecting professionals from United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Malta, Cyprus and other EU members. The directive interacted with institutions such as the European Parliament, Council of the European Union, European Court of Justice, and European Commission Directorate-General for Internal Market and Services to harmonize professional mobility, affecting professions like medicine, law, architecture, pharmacy, nursing, engineering, accountancy, teaching, and others recognized across national regimes.

Background and Objectives

The directive built on earlier measures stemming from the single market agenda initiated under leaders such as Jacques Delors, Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl, François Mitterrand, and Gordon Brown to facilitate cross-border services under treaties like the Treaty of Rome and the Treaty on European Union. Influences included rulings from the Court of Justice of the European Union in cases involving actors such as Giuseppe Sacconi, Francovich, Simmenthal, Van Gend en Loos and policy debates involving Barroso Commission and Juncker Commission personnel. The primary objectives invoked principles promoted by entities including European Economic Community, European Free Trade Association, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Health Organization, and professional bodies like the Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs-Conseils to balance mutual recognition, consumer protection, and public health.

The directive defined categories of professions and concepts, drawing on classifications used by institutions such as World Bank, International Labour Organization, United Nations, Eurostat, Council of Europe, European Medicines Agency, European Chemicals Agency, and national regulators like the General Medical Council (United Kingdom), Ordre des Médecins (France), Bundesärztekammer (Germany), Consiglio Nazionale degli Ingegneri (Italy), and Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Médicos (Spain). It specified regulated professions including physician roles exemplified by figures such as Hippocrates, educational standards influenced by institutions like University of Bologna, University of Paris, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Heidelberg University, Charles University, and qualification pathways comparable to frameworks like the Bologna Process, European Qualifications Framework, and directives from Council of the European Union committees.

Recognition mechanisms referenced prior jurisprudence from cases including Bosman, Kranemann, Kohll, De Coster, and administrative practices involving agencies such as European Medicines Agency, European Banking Authority, European Securities and Markets Authority, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, and professional orders like Barreau de Paris, Law Society of England and Wales, Bundesverband Deutscher Ingenieure, Royal College of Physicians. The directive established procedures for automatic recognition for professions such as doctor, nurse, pharmacist, architect, and veterinarian relying on harmonized training conditions originating from universities like Sapienza University of Rome, University of Vienna, University of Warsaw, Trinity College Dublin, and accreditation models akin to European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education.

Temporary provision and posting rules intersected with broader EU instruments including the Posting of Workers Directive, strategies debated in forums such as European Social Fund meetings, and informed by cases adjudicated by the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union involving parties like TFEU litigants. Notable cross-border mobility examples involved entities like Accor, Siemens, Airbus, Deutsche Bahn, Renfe, Ryanair, Iberia, SNCF, Lufthansa, Volkswagen, BMW Group, and public administrations in capitals such as Brussels, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon, Vienna, Warsaw, Prague, Budapest.

Implementation required member state action across ministries and regulatory authorities such as Ministry of Health (United Kingdom), Ministry of Education (France), Bundesministerium für Gesundheit (Germany), and agencies like Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Architects Registration Board (UK). Amendments emanated from legislative updates influenced by the Lisbon Treaty, the Services Directive, the Mutual Recognition Directive, and later revisions propelled by Commissioners including Věra Jourová, Antonio Tajani, Neelie Kroes, Frans Timmermans, and decisions of the European Council.

The directive affected mobility and labor markets involving stakeholders such as European Trade Union Confederation, BusinessEurope, Confédération Européenne des Syndicats, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, and national professional associations like Royal College of Surgeons, Federation of European Accountants, European Council of Engineers Chambers. Criticism came from commentators referencing cases in European Court of Justice, policy critiques from think tanks like Bruegel, Chatham House, Centre for European Reform, and national debates in parliaments such as House of Commons (United Kingdom), Assemblée nationale (France), Bundestag (Germany), citing concerns raised by figures including Tony Blair, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Matteo Renzi, Pedro Sánchez, Robert Fico about administrative burdens, threshold standards, and tensions with public policy domains exemplified in controversies like cross-border healthcare disputes, fraud investigations, and professional protectionism.