The Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications in the EC

Abstract

This chapter outlines the main principles of the European Community rules on mutual recognition of professional qualifications operating with regard to the professions. It outlines the general rules on free provision of services and establishment within the EC and then concentrates on the rules on the mutual recognition of qualifications and includes particular observations on some of the professions. The Treaty of Rome establishing the European Community covers all economic activities in their cross-border dimensions. The rights of mobility conferred by EC law include immigration rights for workers, the self-employed and businesses. Professionals are often employed persons, though in some countries, for some professions, this is prohibited. Reinhard Gebhard was a German national who joined the Stuttgart Bar as a Rechtsanwalt in 1977. The European Court affirmed that establishment, as such, was not dependent on belonging to a professional body of the host State.