1. Liberal Professions in Europe
Free Movement or Regulation
Risks and Opportunities
Carlos Matias Ramos
CESE. Member of Groupe III
ROMA, 1 December 2017
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

2. European Legislative Framework
The Court of Justice referred to the concept of Liberal Professions as:
“… activities which, inter allia, are of a marked intellectual character, require a high-level qualification and are usually subject to a clear and strict profession regulation.”
in: Recommendations of the Working Group on Bolstering the Business of Liberal Professions. European Commission, 2016
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

3. Liberal Professions: Kew words
Professionals which practiced on the basis of:
Relevant professionally qualification.
Responsible and professional independent capacity.
Providing intellectual and conceptual services in the interest of the client and the public.
Confidentiality, as an ethical value must be a priority.
Professionals of public (consumer) confidence-interest.
Usually subject to a clear and strict profession regulation.
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

4. Core values of Liberal Professional Services. Confidence cycle
Stakeholder Inputs
Independence and Impartiality
Conflict of Interests
Ethic Responsibility
Confidentiality of Information
Independence and impartiality.
The Liberal Profession should provide
Services autonomously, without interference from Government agencies, subcontractors
or other third parties.
Confidentiality of information.
The cornerstone for the building
of trust between professionals
and their clients or patients.
Conflict of interests. To maintain
relationships of trust between
the client and service provider.
Ethic responsibility. Guaranteed through
standardised and enforceable regulations
and codes of conduit. The first priority must
be the best interests of the client or patient.
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

5. Impact From Barriers in Liberal Professions
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

6. Mobility of Professionals
The mobility of professionals in general (including but not limited to liberal professions) is currently low in the European Union (*).
About 9% of EU citizens have ever worked abroad (*);
Between 2007 and 2013 Member States administrations took decisions on approximately 278,000 requests for recognition, enabling the establishment of 230,000 professionals in another Member State(*).
Efficient recognition of qualifications will bring additional flexibility to the labour markets:
enhanced mobility of skilled workforce can contribute to the alleviation of forthcoming
shortages of workforce in Member States.
(*) In: European Commission- Action lines for liberal professions. Final Report of Working Group, 2015
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

7. European Parliament IMCO Workshop, July 2017
Commission study (2015) refers significant economic impact from barriers in some liberal professions concluding:
employment could by 3% - 9% in a given profession, if access requirements
Koumenta & Pagliero (2016) estimate that 700,000 jobs could be created by relaxing regulatory requirements in professional services.
Are there case studies justifying that removal of barriers can lead to increased entry into professional services Internal Market?
What are the relevant costs and benefits?
How can they be measured and monitored? Based on econometric analysis, using indicators or benefit-cost criterion?
How to evaluate risks and benefits for providers and consumers (e.g. engineering)?
Removing or reducing barriers in a base of the Single Internal Market?
Focus: Siôn Jones -Smart Single Market regulation in the area of professional services. European Parliament IMCO Workshop, 11th July 2017: “Implementation of Directive2005/36/EC regarding regulation and the need for reform in professional services.”
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

8. The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

9. Benefits of Regulation Licensing aims to increase skills/competencies?
Competition Rules or Regulation? Risks of non regulation
Benefits of Regulation Licensing aims to increase skills/competencies?
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

10. Regulation strategies. A guaranty the quality of professional services
It is on objective for the Internal Market in EU to eliminate all the barriers to the exercise of liberal professions?
No rules to guaranty free circulation?
Free circulation means the adoption of “single market law”?
Are there so much accessible relevant information to justify the answer?
A adequate framework containing rules to be adopted in the attribution of competences to be considered in the regulation of liberal profession, having in mind the fact that these professions are of Public Trust (Consumer), is welcome.
Public safety can not be compromised for the sake of professional mobility.
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

11. The paradigm of the Internal Single Market
The Internal Single Market it self, conducting to free circulation, solves the problem of ensuring compliance with the competences (academic and professionals) and Codes of Conduct of the Liberal Professions required to the exercise of these professions?
The market only works with what it puts there.
If what is put is bad, the market alone does not regulate the requirements that should govern the exercise of professions of public trust.
The regulation of liberal professions activities is, if well defined and controlled, therefore the most adequate way to protect society and, particularly, the socially most unprotected or not so properly informed.
Main problems:
What barriers in free circulation?
Model of regulation. Static (rigid laws) or dynamic (according to technological and social evolution)?
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

12. Model For The Regulation
Based on a regulatory framework containing Codes of Conduct and Codes of Practice. In order to maintain professional qualification, it will be necessary to maintain and continuously improve skills throughout the career (Dynamic Regulation).
How to do the effective control (register and monitoring) of the professional activity:
directly by the State Administration Services, doing the register, based only in the Academic degree?
by Professional Associations (requiring transference of State competences)?
In case of the self regulation by Associations, how to do the evaluation that the procedures, requiring to be membership of each professional association, are not used to prejudice freedom to provide services or freedom of establishment (competences, confidentiality, conflict of interests, transparency)?
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

13. Principles-based regulation
Regulation of the Liberal Professions must summarises the moral conditions for practising the profession (ethic to guaranty social responsibility)* .
Principles-based regulation involves drafting abstract principles of professional law to ensure people receive independent advice and support*.
In my opinion, an efficient recognition of qualifications, with a qualified and socially recognised associations, will bring additional flexibility and quality to the exercise of liberal professionals.
Dynamic regulation defining competences, attitudes and aptitudes. The appraisal of a liberal profession is only possible with an assessment of competences.
(*)Based on The state of Liberal Professions Concerning their functions and Relevance to European Civil Society. EESC, 2014
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

14. Credibility of the regulation process
How to guaranty the credibility of the professional associations to assure:
Licensing to exercise liberal profession based on the skills/competence, ethical, deontological and professional standards;
Implementation of appropriate procedures and acceptable standards of competency;
Putting into a practice appropriate monitoring and supervision of the compliance the necessary level of qualifications (academic and professional experience), creating a database-ongoing of all the professionals in different countries and their skills/competences (that can be used by the potential clients and patients).
Compliance with Codes of Conduct (ethical and deontological) and Codes of Practice;
Transparence of all the processes .
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

15. Final Considerations
There is no basic model common of professional organisations by Member State.
The Commission, together with professional organizations and Member States, could encourage efforts to draw up European-wide codes of conducts in the area of liberal professions, narrowing differences between professional conduct rules applicable in individual Member States, to stimulate:
Progress on the reduction of administrative burden e.g. by identifying burdensome regulations and procedures, as well as good practices, like the one-stopshop, only once reporting, electronic submission, sampling procedures.
Development of a common framework of professional standards: identification and of acceptable standards of competency and implementation of appropriate procedures.
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

16. Council of Portuguese Associations of Liberal Professionals
CNOP Position
Council of Portuguese Associations of Liberal Professionals
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Goup III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

17. CNOP Position
CNOP (Council of Portuguese Associations of Liberal Professionals) supports the increase of the potential competitiveness of the qualified liberal professionals, defending that the legislation must have as principal objective the following principles:
“The normal functioning of the liberal professional without restrictive conditionings associated to the regulation of their activity, that must be done based on their competences and the protection of the people.
The regulation is essential as it guarantees the level of exert safe and acceptable in the services of essential public interest”.
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

18. Basic model of professional organisations by Member State
Notes:
The term “Chamber”is an autonomous entity, responsible for the registration and professional supervision.
Model 1- Characterised by the registration and/or supervision of the profession is carried out by Government agency.
Chambers-Autonomous entity responsible for the registration and professional supervision
in: The State of Liberal Professions Concerning Their Functions and Relevance to European Civil Society. EESC, 2014
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Goup III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017

19. Is the adequate regulation, with competition rules and Professional Codes, incompatible with the free movement of professionals? ꙰
The ethical rules contribute to preserve an essential legal asset to market dynamics, namely trust (Giuseppe Colavitti).
Thank you
The Liberal Professions. Extraordinary Group III Meeting. Rome 1/12/2017