Luxembourg. Nurses are representatives of regulated professions who have taken up corresponding employment in another EU member state on the basis of the EU Recognition Directive, which has been in force since 2005. In total, according to data published Monday by the European Court of Auditors (ECA). Special Report on the recognition of professional qualifications in the EU 26,624 nurses who underwent the corresponding recognition process between 2017 and 2021. With 25,162 recognition procedures, doctors occupy third place on this list.
According to the special report, the recognition of professional qualifications is still fraught with problems. The Qualifications Directive, which came into force in 2005, was intended to prevent Member States from placing excessive demands on citizens. However, there are still shortcomings in the implementation of the directive by national authorities and the European Commission. The information provided to citizens is also often unreliable. Furthermore, authorities are not legally obliged to consult a register containing warnings about misconduct by professionals.
Potential candidates may be discouraged by the process
“Nurses or mechanics who want to work in another Member State may be put off by the long and overly bureaucratic process they may have to go through to have their professional qualifications recognised,” concluded Stef Blok, the ECA member responsible for the review. He added: “We found that Member States approach the application of EU rules very differently, which is detrimental to citizens who want to practice a regulated profession in another EU country. To protect EU citizens, we believe that the existing alert mechanism should be integrated into the recognition process when it comes to professions that concern health and safety or require integrity. This is particularly true for professions involving minors.” (eb)