The European Commission is moving to expand automatic recognition of professional qualifications across the EU, identifying 10 additional professions considered important to the bloc’s economy, healthcare system and green and digital transitions.
Physiotherapists are first on the preliminary priority list, with the Commission seeking common training frameworks that would allow qualifications to be recognised across member states without lengthy reassessment procedures.
The initiative forms part of the Fair Labour Mobility Package, which aims to make it easier for qualified professionals to work across EU borders.
The 10 professions on the preliminary list
The Commission’s preliminary list, ranked in order of priority, includes:
- Physiotherapists
- Civil engineers
- Biomedical laboratory technicians
- Electricians
- Landscape architects
- Nursing assistants
- Healthcare assistants
- Occupational therapists
- Radiographers
- Early childhood educators and childcare workers
The list is indicative rather than final.
The Commission intends to work with member states on an annual programme assessing which professions meet the legal requirements for an EU-level common training framework.
Priority is being given to occupations where national qualification standards are already converging and where labour shortages affect Europe’s economic resilience, competitiveness, care sector and ability to deliver the green and digital transitions.
Seven professions already benefit from automatic recognition
At present, seven regulated professions benefit from automatic recognition across the EU where the relevant conditions are met:
- Doctors
- General care nurses
- Dentists
- Pharmacists
- Midwives
- Veterinary surgeons
- Architects
Automatic recognition does not mean immediate approval, as administrative procedures have still been required.
The Commission now wants to make the wider recognition process faster and more digital.
For regulated professions such as doctors, nurses, engineers and teachers, a proposed mandatory digital procedure is intended to reduce processing times from around three months to five weeks, while maintaining public safety, consumer protection and professional standards.
Digital wallet to carry qualifications
Cross-border recognition is also expected to be supported by the European Digital Identity Wallet, or EUDI Wallet.
EU citizens will be able to store certified documents digitally, including identity documents, driving licences, educational qualifications and health insurance information.
Use of the wallet will be voluntary and the system is intended to include safeguards allowing users to control which information they disclose.
EU countries are expected to complete preparations for the digital wallet before Christmas 2026. According to the report, France, Denmark and Italy are currently ready, while Greece is still adapting its existing gov.gr Wallet to European standards.
Privacy concerns over digital credentials
The expansion of digital identification has also prompted concerns among digital rights and privacy organisations, including European Digital Rights (EDRi) and Privacy International.
Critics have raised questions about personal-data protection and the potential creation of extensive digital profiles, particularly where biometric information or facial-recognition technology is involved.
The broader labour mobility package also includes the European Social Security Pass, or ESSPASS, designed to make it easier for workers to demonstrate social security coverage and entitlements when moving between EU countries.
Easier comparison of qualifications
Alongside storing qualifications digitally, the Commission is proposing a new EU qualification comparison tool drawing information from national qualification databases.
The aim is to give workers and employers a simple, free way to understand and compare qualifications obtained in different member states.
The Commission argues that simplifying recognition is particularly important in occupations facing shortages, where administrative barriers can prevent qualified workers from filling vacancies elsewhere in the EU.
Changes for qualifications obtained outside EU
The proposed reforms would also introduce common standards for recognising qualifications obtained outside the European Union.
These would apply both to EU citizens who obtained their qualifications abroad and to professionals from third countries working in the Single Market or applying from outside the EU.
Such procedures currently take an average of around 14 months, according to the report. Under the proposed common standards, the process could fall to around four months, while employers’ administrative recruitment costs could be reduced by up to half.
For seven professions where EU-wide training standards already exist, qualifications awarded by accredited institutions outside the bloc and assessed by European quality-assurance bodies could qualify for automatic recognition.
Member states would nevertheless retain control over who is permitted to enter their territory and the standards required to practise a profession.
The changes form part of a wider EU effort to remove practical barriers to labour mobility while directing skilled workers towards sectors facing shortages across the Single Market.
Source: in.gr
