EU attacks French recruitment rules

The European Commission has claimed that
France is breaking EU law by restricting the employment of
qualified social care workers from other member states.

The
commission claimed that France’s rules clash with European
directives on the mutual recognition of diplomas and with other EU
commitments on the free movement of workers across member
states.

The
French system stops local authorities from taking a non-French EU
candidate’s professional experience into account when they are
assessed for a job, claimed a commission statement.

This
“means that [social care professionals] from other member states
find it very difficult to gain access to this profession in the
French public sector,” said the commmission

The
French government will have to defend itself at the European Court
of Justice. If the court finds against France, it will almost
certainly have to reform its system. Under current rules, the
judges have the power to levy fines, as much as 100,000 Euros a
day, which are payable until a member state has complied with their
wishes.

The
commission has proposed formalising European rules on the mutual
recognition of professional qualifications within a directive that
covers all “regulated professions”.