European Building Directive

European Building Directive - 'Golden Opportunity Missed' says Kevin Sheridan FCIOB, President of the European Council for Building Professionals and CIOB's Irish representative on ECBP.

Commenting on the decision of the European Parliament to reject an amendment to the professional qualifications directive which would have recognised the right of qualified construction professionals other than architects to engage in building design within the European Union, Kevin Sheridan FCIOB, President of the European Council for Building Professionals and CIOB's Irish representative on ECBP, said the vote would continue the anomaly whereby the mobility of qualified people such as engineers and building surveyors within the European Union would be frustrated.

Prior to the meeting of the Council of Ministers in May both CIOB and RICS will persist in their efforts to get this decision reversed and so restore freedom of movement to building professionals.

The amendment is supported by a number of professional bodies in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland including CIOB and the RICS, and by the AEEBC (Association d'Experts Europ?ens du B?timent et de la Construction) which represents building experts who provide consultant advice to property owners and users.

It reads: Building design may also be exercised by other professionals, in particular by engineers, building surveyors and other appropriately qualified construction professionals who have undergone special training in the field of construction or the art of building.

Mr Sheridan told CIOB International that the decision to reject the amendment would perpetuate confusion for non-architects who wish to work in another EU State where the function is regulated.

"Problems exist where a qualified professional has the title architect in one European state and engineer, surveyor or chartered builder in another.

The recognition of professional qualifications enables people to gain access in host Member States to the professions in which they are qualified and to enjoy the same rights as nationals when practicing these professions." He said that the suggestion in the proposed directive, that non-architectural construction professionals could set up common platforms as a mechanism for facilitating mutual recognition, while desirable, would prove time consuming and difficult to address in practice.

Kevin Sheridan of CIOB Ireland, representing CIOB on the ECBP, also an RICS Fellow, said "The proposal for a directive on the recognition of professional qualifications was a golden opportunity for the EU to achieve its stated objectives of greater liberalisation of the provision of services, more automatic recognition of qualifications, and increased flexibility in the procedures to provide a mechanism for a smoother mobility of construction professionals in an enlarged EU community.

"It is inequitable to exclude suitably qualified engineers and building surveyors and appropriately qualified chartered builders from the design process, ostensibly on the basis of a misunderstanding of the design function carried out by many of these professionals.

In contrast there was apparently greater familiarity with role and function of the title of architect".

On a positive note, CIOB's active lobbying was instrumental in gaining the support of UK and Irish MEPs for the amended wording.

Under the EU's "co-decision procedure" the proposal will now be debated by the Council of Ministers, which is expected to adopt a Common Position in May 2004.

ECBP and the many professional bodies supporting it are looking forward to the reversal of this inconsistent decision to exclude appropriately qualified members.

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