Dear Mr X,

You recently made a complaint to the European Ombudsman about the European Commission’s decision to close your infringement complaint against Spain. In your complaint to the Commission, you took issue with the failure by the Spanish authorities to recognise your professional experience in Italy, which you argue is contrary to Directive 2005/36/EC.^[1]

After a detailed analysis of all the information you have sent us, I regret to inform you that there was no maladministration by the Commission.

The Commission has wide discretion in deciding whether and when to initiate an infringement procedure.^[2] Its policy on how it deals with potential infringements of EU law is set out in its Communication EU Law: Better results thanks to better application.^[3] The role of the European Ombudsman in a case like this is to verify that the Commission has provided an adequate explanation of its actions, and that there was no manifest error of assessment.

In its decision of 19 July 2024, the Commission explained that, under Articles 16 to 19 of Directive 2005/36/EC, for Spain to automatically recognise your professional experience in another Member State, in this case Italy, you were required to provide a certificate issued by the competent Italian authorities attesting your professional experience. The Commission explained that, as you failed to provide it with a copy of such a certificate from the Italian authorities, it was unable to assess the matter. The Commission added that your case would be better handled at national level and advised you to seek remedies from national authorities. We find that the Commission’s explanation is reasonable and in line with Directive 2005/36/EC. In particular, from the documents submitted with your complaint, which contain correspondence between you and the Commission, it does not appear that you have provided the requested certificate to the Commission.

In addition, in its letter of 19 July 2024, the Commission explained that the purpose of infringement procedures is not to provide individuals with a means of redress regarding their specific situation at national level. Rather, it is a mechanism to ensure that there is no general breach of EU law by Member States. This reasoning is in line with the Commission's policy regarding the handling of infringements complaints.

Therefore, we have closed the case.

I understand that this is not the outcome you expected, but we hope you find these explanations helpful. Thank you for contacting the European Ombudsman.

Yours sincerely,

Tina Nilsson
Head of the Case-handling Unit

Strasbourg, 17/12/2024

 

[1] Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications. See https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02005L0036-20240620.

[2] Judgement 14 February 1989, Starfruit v Commission, case 247/87, available in: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:61987CJ0247.

[3] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ES/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A52017XC0119%2801%29 .