Directive 2018/958 - Proportionality test before adoption of new regulation of professions - Main contents
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Directive (EU) 2018/958 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 June 2018 on a proportionality test before adoption of new regulation of professions| Legal instrument | Directive |
|---|---|
| Number legal act | Directive 2018/958 |
| Original proposal | COM(2016)822  |
| CELEX number i | 32018L0958 |
| Document | 28-06-2018; Date of signature |
|---|---|
| Publication in Official Journal | 09-07-2018; OJ L 173 p. 25-34 |
| Signature | 28-06-2018 |
| Effect | 29-07-2018; Entry into force Date pub. +20 See Art 14 |
| Deadline | 18-01-2024; Review See Art 12.1 |
| End of validity | 31-12-9999 |
| Transposition | 30-07-2020; See Art 13 |
9.7.2018 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
L 173/25 |
DIRECTIVE (EU) 2018/958 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 28 June 2018
on a proportionality test before adoption of new regulation of professions
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 46, Article 53(1) and Article 62 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),
After consulting the Committee of the Regions,
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2),
Whereas:
(1) |
The freedom to choose an occupation is a fundamental right. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’) guarantees the freedom to choose an occupation, as well as the freedom to conduct a business. The free movement of workers, the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services are fundamental principles of the internal market enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). National rules organising access to regulated professions should therefore not constitute an unjustified or disproportionate obstacle to the exercise of those fundamental rights. |
(2) |
In the absence of specific provisions harmonising the requirements on access to a regulated profession or the pursuit thereof laid down in Union law, it is a Member State competence to decide whether and how to regulate a profession within the limits of the principles of non-discrimination and proportionality. |
(3) |
The principle of proportionality is one of the general principles of Union law. It follows from case-law (3) that national measures liable to hinder, or to make less attractive, the exercise of fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the TFEU should fulfil four conditions, namely, they should: be applied in a non-discriminatory manner; be justified by public interest objectives; be suitable for securing the attainment of the objective which they pursue; and not go beyond what is necessary in order to attain that objective. |
(4) |
Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) includes an obligation for Member States to assess the proportionality of their requirements restricting access to, or the pursuit of, regulated professions, and to communicate the results of that assessment to the Commission, launching the ‘mutual evaluation process’. That process means that Member States had to carry out a screening of all their legislation on all of the professions that were regulated in their territory. |
(5) |
The results of the mutual evaluation process revealed a lack of clarity as regards the criteria to be used by Member States when assessing the proportionality of requirements restricting access to, or the pursuit of, regulated professions, as well as an uneven scrutiny of such requirements at all levels of regulation. To avoid fragmentation of the internal market and to eliminate barriers to the taking-up and pursuit of certain employed or self-employed activities, there should be a common approach at Union level, preventing disproportionate measures from being adopted. |
(6) |
In its Communication of 28 October 2015 entitled ‘Upgrading the Single market: more opportunities for people and businesses’, the Commission identified the need to adopt an analytical proportionality framework for Member States to use when reviewing existing regulations of professions or when proposing new ones. |
(7) |
This Directive aims to establish rules for proportionality assessments to be conducted by Member States before the introduction of new, or the... |
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