IP/08/866

Brussels, 5 June 2008

Professional qualifications: Commission requests information on Germany's compliance with Court of Justice judgement

The Commission has decided, under Article 228 of the EC Treaty, to send a letter of formal notice to Germany requesting it to provide information on the measures it have taken to comply with a 2007 judgement of the European Court of Justice (C-456/05) in the area of professional qualifications.

This judgement concerned transitional provisions allowing psychotherapists who fulfilled certain conditions to obtain authorisation to practise under the German statutory sickness insurance schemes. The Court held that the transitional provisions in question are not compatible with EU law, as they take no account of immigrant psychotherapists’ similar professional experience with the social security systems of other Member States.
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