The Internal Market Committee voted on its input to forthcoming proposal to revise EU rules on cross-border mobility for professionals. MEPs agreed that without compromising the reliability or safety of their services to citizens, the skills of doctors, engineers, dentists and other professionals applying to work in another EU Member State must be recognised faster.

The non-legislative report on "The implementation of the Professional Qualifications Directive" approved by the Internal Market Committee concludes that modernising the system for recognising professional qualifications is vital to spur economic growth, add flexibility to the labour market and respond to demographic shortages in the EU. The Commission will present a revision of the current Professional Qualifications Directive in December. Last June, Commission also published a green book in which it stated that updating the Directive is a priority.

Among the proposals approved by MEPs there is a voluntary professional card linked to an electronic exchange system connecting public authorities across the EU known as the Internal Market Information System (IMI), could be a useful tool to aid mobility for some professions and simplify administrative procedures. In addition, MEPs asked for a "proactive alert mechanism" within IMI to ensure that all Member States are alerted when regulatory action is taken against a professional's registration or their right to provide services, says the report. They also consider that the current directive's rules on language requirements must be clarified and call on the Commission and the Member States to revise them for the healthcare professions.

The proposal from the Commission on the revision of the Professional Qualifications Directive is expected to be presented in December. The non-legislative approved by the Internal Market Committee presents Parliament's inputs to the legislative proposal. In fact, improving mobility for professionals is one of the 12 priorities of the Single Market Act, the Commission's action plan to improve the functioning of the single market. The 2005 Professional Qualifications Directive sets out rules for up to 800 regulated professions and secures the automatic recognition of 7 professions across Europe: doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, midwives, veterinary surgeons and architects.