Validation of foreign studies and degrees

The European Parliament and Council Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications of 7 September 2005 (also called European Professional Qualifications Directive ) is an EU Directive on the implementation of the Single European Market on the recognition of professional qualifications.

The European Professional Qualifications Directive was adopted on 7 September 2005 and subsequently published in the Official Journal of the European Union. She stepped under Article 64 of the Directive on 20 October 2005 and had to be completed by 20 October 2007 by the Member States under Article 63 of the Directive. A variety of previously existing, specific guidelines ( "Architects " Directive, " Recognition of Diplomas Directive ", ...) was replaced by Directive 2005/36/EC.

The European Parliament voted on 9 October 2013 a modernization of the Professional Qualifications Directive; on December 28, 2013 was the publication of the Directive 2013/55/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2013 amending Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications and Council Regulation ( EU) No 1024 / 2012 on administrative cooperation with the internal Market Information system ( 'IMI Regulation'). The change includes, inter alia, Automatic recognition of professional qualifications for a limited number of professions, a mutual recognition for most professions and expanded opportunities for short-term Auspbung of their own profession in another Member State.

Objective

The Directive on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications was created with the aim to consolidate and simplify the existing until then, 15 different sectoral, general and coordinating guidelines for professional recognition.

The European Union guarantees the following fundamental freedoms: the free movement of goods, free movement of workers, freedom of establishment, freedom to provide services and the free movement of capital and payments.

The recognition of professional qualifications and educational qualifications is of particular relevance for the movement of persons, ie the free movement of workers and freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services.

Through the Professional Qualifications Directive, the material basis for the free movement of persons is ensured for the individual in the Union, after all, this is imperfect for the individual, as long as it does not in other European countries may exercise his trained profession.

Implementation in Germany

Germany has enacted a law implementation in December 2007, but did not lead to full implementation of the Directive. Therefore, the European Commission filed a lawsuit against Germany because of the violation of the obligation to implement. On 17 December 2009, the breach of the obligation through Germany has been determined by a judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ ) in the case C-505/08. The Commission prevailed since the deadline was violated by Germany. In fact, the Federal Republic of Germany was forced to admit that the final implementation would not take place before the end of 2009.

In a recent start was on June 22, 2011, the Federal Government introduced the draft of the law to improve the detection and recognition of foreign professional qualifications acquired in the Bundestag ( Bundestag printed paper 17/6260 ). The German Bundestag had then adopted at its 130th meeting on 29 September 2011 due to the decision and recommendation of the report of the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment ( Bundestag printed paper 17/7218 ) with some modifications, but otherwise unchanged. The Federal Council has the bill after the submission of the BR -Drs. 606/11 approved at its 889th meeting on November 4, 2011. The Act came into force on 1 April 2012.