CEPI - European Association of Real Estate Professions

The report prepared by rapporteur Bernadette Vergnaud MEP for the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) Committee of the European Parliament has now been published. The report proposes a number of amendments to the proposal for the modernisation of the Professional Qualifications Directive put forward by the Commission in December last year. CEPI welcomes the support of the report for the introduction of a European Professional Card on a voluntary basis.

The amendments proposed reflect concerns about the right of partial access to regulated professions and the time limits to be imposed on national competent authorities in meeting their obligations under the Directive. The report also includes a number of amendments relating to the health professions and minimum training requirements.

Some of the amendments we can welcome, others are of more concern or call for greater precision. For example whilst we agree that it is important to be precise about what is meant by temporary and occasional mobility, we also believe that it is important to agree who will define such terms. A detailed report will be prepared for CEPI member associations with more information about specific amendments.

Important issues for CEPI remain the European Professional Card and the provisions concerning the establishment of common training frameworks. Because we believe that these two issues are of great concern and potential benefit to the semi-regulated professions we continue to focus on ways in which they can be realised in practice.

The report is scheduled for discussion by IMCO in the second half of September with the deadline for amendments being 15 October 2012. It is available on the site of the European Parliament at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=FR&reference=PE494.470.