How the EU is interfering with the master craftsman requirement

"European bodies are launching an attack on German vocational qualifications," is how many skilled trade associations are commenting on the EU's current plans. Read what's currently happening in Brussels here.

This article is part of the special feature "How Brussels interferes in day-to-day business operations".

The European Union cannot simply change German laws. However, EU bodies can adopt changes to which individual countries are then bound. Two EU directives are particularly relevant for interventions in German qualification regulations: the Professional Recognition Directive and the Services Directive. One of the most important foundations for the EU's influence on German professional access regulations is the Professional Recognition Directive: It is intended to simplify and accelerate the mutual recognition of professions between EU countries.

And it prescribes a so-called transparency procedure for this: Not only are the states required to submit a list of their regulated professions to the Commission, they must also explain which regulations they intend to maintain, providing comprehensible reasons while taking proportionality into account. To assess what is proportionate, the Federal Government must put forward sound arguments—such as the common good or consumer protection—that stand up to the European Commission, but above all to its European partners.

The Professional Recognition Directive puts pressure on the states

Our qualification rules are a system for success and serve the common good," argues Dr. Ortwin Weltrich, head of the Europe Working Group at the West German Chamber of Skilled Crafts Association and managing director of the Cologne Chamber of Skilled Crafts. "Lower qualifications and declining quality jeopardize the competitiveness and training capacity of companies and thus undermine the attractiveness of dual vocational training," ZDH Secretary General Holger Schwanneke sees a danger.

The EU Commission evaluates the reports and forwards them to all member states and professional associations. These can submit their comments (so-called peer reviews) within six months. The Commission then prepares a new report, which it submits to the Council and the European Parliament – ​​possibly announcing further initiatives. The justification requirement for regulated professions is new in this form and puts pressure on member states to act.

The Services Directive must be implemented

The second source of EU-driven changes to the rules governing access to professions is the Services Directive : it aims to simplify the provision of services across national borders and reduce restrictions. All member states must guarantee free access to and the provision of services by companies from other EU countries.

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The European Commission reports every three years on the implementation of the directive in the Member States and proposes any necessary changes. During the last review of the Services Directive in 2011, the Commission conducted so-called performance checks. The Commission's next implementation report is due at the end of 2014.

The third instrument through which the EU influences European member states is the Commission's country-specific recommendations. The current version, from May 2013, states that Germany should "take measures to further stimulate competition in the services sector, including certain crafts, particularly in construction, in order to promote domestic sources of growth." The European Council has approved these recommendations with the vote of the German government. This means that Germany has also agreed to the recommendations: it has thus committed itself to them.

Arming politicians with arguments

A response from the new governing coalition to these EU demands is still pending. In April 2013, the previous federal government cited the new fee regulations in chimney sweep law as concrete progress in line with the EU Commission's call. The next progress report is due in April 2014.

The skilled trade associations are aware of the sensitivity of the issue. They are currently developing strategies to provide German politicians with arguments in the fight for the master craftsman's certificate and the mandatory master craftsman's certificate. "We will continue to persuade the EU parliamentarians and also hold discussions in Brussels and Strasbourg," Weltrich explains the upcoming tasks.