International News

CLEAR Outreach to Ireland Prompts Fall Visit
CLEAR Past President Donna Mooney and staff member Adam Parfitt met in early November with representatives from seven regulatory boards and agencies in Dublin, Ireland. An invitation had been extended to meet with the bodies by Eugene Donohue, Registrar of the Irish Nurses Board, following his attendance at the 2001 rescheduled annual conference in San Antonio. Of particular interest was the explicit focus on consumer protection and the openness of the regulatory process in North America.

Representatives from the Opticians Board, National Social Work Qualifications Board, Pharmaceutical Society, Dental Council, Medical Council, Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council, and the Nursing Board took part in the meeting at which Donna outlined the regulatory models in North America, and spoke about the disciplinary process, continuing competence, professional mobility, and other aspects of regulatory practice before taking questions from her audience. The group also learned about CLEAR and its role as an information sharing organization and a number of those present expressed an interest in continuing a dialogue with the organization. The Nursing Board indicated that it will be joining CLEAR and others present will be requesting further information. 

Professions Resistant to Proposed EU Directive on Recognition of Professional Qualifications
October 1, 2002 saw the European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market hold a public hearing on the Commission's proposal for a draft directive, about which previous editions of CLEAR News has reported. Opposition to certain aspects of the proposal has emerged and the hearing allowed the professions (most notably those governed by their own "sectoral directives" - an explanation of directives is available) to give voice to their concerns.

An extensive set of the position papers presented to the committee can be found on the European Parliament Hearings web page, and closer reading of the material reveals opposition in key areas includes the removal of the separate advisory committees (for those professions governed by sectoral directives) and their replacement by one over-arching committee. Those petitioning the committee were concerned at the loss of these profession-specific bodies that served to examine the diplomas of training, particularly important given the mutual recognition of qualifications among the Member States. The representative of the Architects Council of Europe said of the role of the advisory committees, "this independent review of new or revised diplomas assures the quality of architectural training, thus ensuring that the interests of the consumer and the European citizen are protected. Its abolition would deprive Member States of an existing right and control that has been prudently and effectively exercised over the past 15 years and it would impact on the standards of the profession."

Indeed each of the seven professions governed by the sectoral directives signed the following statement:

Joint position of the sectoral professions to the proposal for a directive on the recognition of professional qualifications

All the professions covered by the sectoral directives consider it crucial to maintain a clear separation of the two existing regimes (the sectoral and the general) in any new directive. As a consequence, the sectoral professions favor the establishment of different committees instead of the single one that has been envisaged in the current proposal. One single committee cannot adequately manage the two different regimes. Furthermore there is a clear need for the specific inputs of the different sectoral professions which must be clearly formalized and guaranteed in the directive itself.  

All the sectoral professions firmly assert the necessity of maintaining the sectoral regime, which has proven to be more efficient in facilitating free movement within the European Union than the general directive. 

The proposal will shortly be debated by the Committee and CLEAR News will provide readers with news as it becomes available. 

GATS:  Post-Doha Negotiations Update
Following the meeting of Ministers in Doha in November 2001, the latest round of General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is nearing completion. The deadline for initial requests from one country to another regarding the removal of barriers to trade was June 30, 2002 while initial offers to accede to those requests are due by March 31, 2003. Various nations have submitted requests, with Australia notably active. It has made requests to 33 Members and held 26 bilateral meetings discussing its requests with trading partners during the WTO GATS Council Special Session in Geneva, July 15-25, 2002. Its requests have included the following sectors: accountancy, architecture, engineering, legal services, construction, education and financial. Among its concerns is the perceived "lack of transparency in domestic regulation, particularly in the administration of licensing arrangements", as well as "issues relating to the recognition of Australian qualifications" and "strict quotas on the number of foreign firms that can be established in a local market." Australia has received 17 requests from its own trading partners for new commitments or changes to current limits. The 17 requests include a broad variety of GATS sectors.

Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, the Government launched a consultation on GATS on October 10, 2002. The Department of Trade and Industry is formally seeking views on the current round of trade negotiations. Titled "Liberalising Trade in Services - a New Consultation" the document focuses on the requests that have been received by the UK and the European Union (EU). It divides the numerous requests into sectors and includes a variety that pertain to professional services.   

Related Links:
An updated list of requests made by WTO Members

In other International News
CLEAR learns that UK pharmacists are to receive prescriptive power in 2003, while a decree in the United Arab Emirates announces the establishment of licensure for veterinarians.

 
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