Germany takes over EU Council presidency

“Europe can only be strong if people see how important Europe also is for them personally,” says Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, in her address to mark Germany assuming the EU Council presidency.

The recognition of professional qualifications has an important role to play in this. This is because mobility within member states is one of the European Union’s major achievements. Existing arrangements for the mutual recognition of professional qualifications also reinforces this principle.

EU law makes the recognition of EU professional qualifications easier

Individuals with a professional qualification from the EU benefit when it comes to the recognition from the EU Directive on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications. The directive introduces significant simplifications within the procedure for specific occupations and professions. For automatic recognition - e.g. for medical practitioners or architects - the individual check for the equivalence of the professional qualification does not apply. The European Professional Card (EPC) fast-tracks the recognition procedure for five professions, including general nurses. And partial access to a profession means that with authorisation to practise for just one specific part of the professional qualification, you are permitted to work in a regulated profession. EU citizens also benefit from the option of being able to submit an application for recognition online via the so-called single point of contact. 

“Recognition in Germany” is the German EU assistance centre for questions concerning the recognition of foreign professional qualifications. EU citizens can receive guidance here on recognition questions in the context of the EU Directive on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications. 

All of this information is presented in a user-friendly way on “Recognition in Germany”. The information portal guides those interested in recognition on the path towards recognition of their professional qualification. The Recognition Finder’s assistance system also take into account whether the skilled worker is already in Germany or is still abroad. It also asks whether the professional qualification originates from the EU, the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, the United Kingdom or from another country. These individualised results mean that anybody interested in recognition is in an ideal position for more in-depth counselling and the application process.

Support with job seeking in the EU

“Make it in Germany” has presented the opportunities for EU citizens in a separate area. In the “Jobs” section users will find useful information about job seeking. In the “Make it in Germany” job listings, there are vacancies which are also specifically targeted at skilled workers abroad. The skilled worker portal regularly promotes information about living and working in Germany via Twitter.

Further information:

German assistance centre at EU level

European Professional Card (EPC)

Single Point of Contact

Skilled worker portal “Make it in Germany“

The German EU Council presidency