MARIA PIA BELLONI

La formazione professionale nella CEE. Un esame della direttiva 92/51

N. 165

Summary — The free movement of professionals in the EEC’s Internal Market, started with the approval of Council Directive 89/48 of 21st December 1988 on a general system for the recognition of higher education diplomas awarded upon completion of professional education and training of at least three-year duration, is now completed by Directive 92/51. This is addressed to non-graduate Community’s workers who intend to take up or pursuit a regular activity, whether in a self-employed or employed capacity, in a host Member State other than that in which the person concerned acquired his qualifications. Therefore, this Directive aims to cover all the professions that were not concerned by the previous Directive, reconforming the attitude expressed by the Single European Act and by the Treaty of Maastricht on the European Union, that a non satisfactory protection of social rights, in the long run, could block the entire integration process. In this sense, the social rights are no more considered in contrast with the economic programs but, on the contrary, as a mean to support them. Directive 92/51, which reaffirms the structure and principles stated by the previous Directive 89/48 (among other things, comparability of education, mutual trust between Member States, global approach of the recognition of professional qualifications, compensatory measures for substantial differences in education and training, etc.) appears extremely difficult to interpret, also because of the complexity of the sector to regulate. Indeed, the technical qualifications are extremely differentiated in EEC’s Member States; the Community’s legal provisions in this field are very limited, as is the information on the correspondence of the different qualifications. On the basis of these considerations one should expect the difficulties of integration of the second recognition’s system — foreseen by Directive 92/51 — into the former Directive 89/48, also because of the lack of an evaluation of the results of the application of this one. A common element in the two Directives is the more and more urgent need to promote European educational programmes bot at technical and academic level. This could not only simplify the national measures to incorporate the Directives on the general recognition of diplomas and qualifications, but also facilitate the way towards a Citizens’ Europe.