Facilitating mobility through the comparability of professional qualifications
One of the EU's central freedoms is the free movement of workers between member states. This means that, if EU citizens wish to take up work within the boundaries of the European Union, they do not have to obtain formal recognition of foreign-earned professional qualifications.
To date, Germany has concluded intergovernmental agreements with Austria and France that provide for the mutual recognition of a wide variety of qualifying examinations, training programmes, and master craftsmen's examinations. This means that German citizens who hold an examination certificate can take jobs or engage in self-employment in Austria or France as if they had passed equivalent examinations in those countries. The same is true for Austrian and French citizens who wish to take up work in Germany.
Thanks to their similar educational systems and trusting cooperation, the governments of Germany, France and Austria refrain from requiring individuals to obtain formal administrative recognition of their professional qualifications.
Instead, Germany has adopted joint declarations with Austria and France affirming that professional qualifications are comparable between Germany and Austria, and between Germany and France.
These bilateral agreements do not lay out the formal recognition of equivalency between individual types of qualifications; rather, they declare that qualifications earned in one country are comparable to those earned in the other. One key aim of these agreements is to reinforce the private sector's trust in the partner country's educational system and to strengthen the willingness of companies to hire individuals from these countries. At the same time, the clear declaration of comparability between partner countries' professional qualifications makes it easier for workers to engage in economic activity in their neighbouring countries, thereby encouraging greater professional mobility.
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