Abstract
"Mutual recognition constitutes a principle of the EU legal order whose purpose is to alleviate Member State beneficiaries from having to comply to a dual regulatory burden during cross border transactions. It relies on the premise that a destination EU state recognizes the given regulations of an origin member state.
The arguments put forward in this thesis are that in the context of the secondary legislation regarding professional qualifications recognition, this premise has not been adhered to; that an alternative paradigm of mutual recognition has been employed instead, such that excludes certain beneficiaries from the recognition equation; and such as to render the operationalization of mutual recognition in this domain incomplete.
These arguments raise concerns on several levels. Does the emergence of this new paradigm completely undermine the customary application of the mutual recognition principle? Is there scope for the old traditional paradigm to also be applied to the area related to the recognition of professional qualifications? Is there room for the mutual recognition exercise within the context of the Professional Qualifications Directive to be completed?
To address the concerns raised, methodologically, the thesis employs a doctrinal legal research approach calling on primary and secondary EU legislation and associated materials relevant to the mutual recognition principle inclusive of those decisions of the CJEU that relate to the Professional Qualifications Directive. The development and functioning of the principle are examined in detail through the prism of the evolution of the directive.
The findings of the thesis suggest that mutual recognition in the area of the free movement of workers remains not fully operationalized. The conclusion of the thesis is that for the mutual recognition exercise, within the context of the Professional Qualifications Directive, to be completed the traditional mode of operation of the principle must be firmly embedded in it."