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The EU between The EU between authorisation and authorisation and

accreditationaccreditation

Lisbon

12 November 2011

Pierangelo Sardi

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Hystorical differences

In the authorisation system (more typical of catholic countries), access to a professional activity is conditioned by university degree, State examination, inscription in the Chamber’s register

In the accreditation system (more typical of the Anglo-Saxon, protestant countries and their colonies) this access is free, but it is not economically convenient to try it without being accredited by the organised, prestigious community of colleagues

The second method has proved more suitable to guarantee best quality beyond borders, in a Community of States, as the Commonwealth used to be, and now the EU is trying to become

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Two is better than one The UK integrates the two systems:- the authorisation just to guarantee minimum training and

ethical requirements, as well as general competencies- the accreditation system in order to help the recipient to

find a professional endowed with more specific and advanced competencies.

For instance, the British architects must be inscribed into their Chamber, but earn more money if accepted by the prestigious RIBA, Royal Institute of British Architects

RIBA has not only specific sections accrediting specific competencies, but also foreign sections, especially accrediting professionals of those countries, like Italy, endowed only with a Chamber, not a learned society

As a consequence, nearly all the best architectural projects in Italy are now gained by English professional groups

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Emulation in Europe Other northern countries are emulating this

integration of the two systems, born in UK and exported at first in the English colonies, then all over the world

It is not wise to see the two systems as competing against each other

A country missing one of the two systems or, much worse, suffering from the reciprocal boycott of the two types of organisations, finally makes less competitive its national professionals in the international market

The Lisbon strategy, launched here at the beginning of the millennium, has made more competitive some countries against the other ones in the same EU, not the EU against the rest of the world

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One of the two systems cannot absorb the other one

In Italy, our Chamber of Bolzano (Bozen) tried to absorb the accreditation system built by the BDP (Beruf Verband Deutcher Psychologen) for the health insurances, but it proved to be impossible in the public frame, because accreditation improves only if obeying to a private interest, like demonstrated by the rating agencies (S&P, Moody’s, Fitch) in financial fields.

In UK, the monopoly of the British Psychological Society on the access to professional training and activity proved the need of a separate public body, practically a Chamber, in order to avoid exaggerated, unjustified restrictions of the access

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Comparing the two systems, when one of the two remains alone

Despite the above mentioned UK experience of unjustified monopoly, the EU Commission has been misled by an Austrian study, envisaging higher numbers of professionals, and subsequently more competition, where authorising Chambers don’t exist.

An easy comparison of the numbers demonstrates the contrary: when the Chamber is alone, it attracts and accepts many more professionals than the learned society alone; Chambers alone are crowded with professionals;

but their excessive number generates over-prescription, false needs, lack of competence, inverse selection etc.

Only the twinning of the Chambers by other organisations having a private interest to be appreciated for their ability to accredit proper competences can counterbalance these distortions, just improving the information of the recipients about the real competencies of each professional compared to the other ones.

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The national twinning must precede the European mixing

As a first approach, the EU tried to mix the two systems in the same directives on the recognition of the professional qualifications

Insofar blessed by the Crown, the so recognised professional organisations of the British Islands were treated as equivalent to the continental Chambers by the Directives 1989/48, 1992/51 and 2005/36.

But they usually rejected continental professionals if just registered in Chambers, without a proper accreditation

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Cross-border accreditation At a European level, it is natural for the learned

societies to establish cross-border criteria for accreditation of training (for migrant students) and competencies (for migrant professionals)

EFPA has a long list of such European associations of psychologists competent in specific fields

The EFPA General Assembly in Istanbul the 10° of July 2011 decided to include their representatives

It is becoming easy for each country to cover possible holes in the national range of learned societies

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An example for the PIIGS we are For instance, countries endowed with nuclear

plants are used to overcome the NIMBY prejudice thanks to the specific competence of Psychologists for Environmental Mediation

Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece (and Spain too) could profit from their competence, and allow our countries to grow again when will not pay anymore the electricity twice the others’ price

Psychologists could finally be appreciated not only by our poor patients, but also by big decision makers, as much as other professionals

just as envisaged by the document on “The future of EFPA”, approved in our last GA 2011

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European professional cards In order to improve exchanges of best practices

between the EU countries, to reduce unfair competition of national communities against each other, and improve competitiveness of the EU, the EU must recognise and enhance the professional cards, only envisaged by the Recital n. 32 of the directive 2005/36, but unfortunately not yet implemented.

Luckily, in the process of revision of that Directive, the responsible of the Unit Regulated Professions, adv. Juergen Tiedje, recently admitted this need of recognition by the EU

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Interest towards professional cards is growing

It grows among professionals, who are interested to have their specific competences recognised, both at national and European level.

It grows among the professional organisations, aiming at a function and a status comparable to the prestige acquired by the professional organisations within the polycentric Commonwealth.

As a matter of fact, the recent polycentrism of the European Union typically brings the users to require this transparency of effective competences, additional to the basic ones, and acquired along the whole professional life.

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The directive on services in IM All the Lisbon strategy is oriented to reduce the

authorisation regime, and to enhance the accreditation systems. The Directive on Services in the Internal Market, n. 2006/123, in many articles declares these two trends.

Since the Directive on qualification is mainly devoted to regulate authorisation regimes, its article 15, on professional platforms, results to be isolated and premature, when referring to the accreditation of competences. Because of the same limit its Recital 32, concerning professional cards, is not followed by any practical implementation in the text of the same Directive on Qualifications, n. 2005/36.

But indeed, we find many and substantial incentives of the professional cards in the new Directive 06/123, on Services.

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D. 06/123 Rights of clients to know In art. 7, “Right to information, Member States shall ensure that the

following information is easily accessible to providers and recipients through the points of single contact: …the means of, and conditions for, accessing public registers and databases on providers and services… the contact details of the associations or organisations, other than the competent authorities, from which providers or recipients may obtain practical assistance

In art. 21, “Assistance for recipients”, after having repeated in letter c) a provision very similar to that reported above, the directive insists that “Information and assistance shall be provided in a clear and unambiguous manner, shall be easily accessible at a distance, including by electronic means, and shall be kept up to date”

In art. 22, “Information on providers and services, Member States shall ensure that providers make the following information available to the recipient: … details enabling him to be contacted and communicated with directly”. In the same article 22, after having stated that “in the case of regulated professions” must be accessible “any professional body or similar institution with which the provider is registered”, the following letter j) adds that access must be guaranteed to “the main features of the service, if not already apparent from the context”.

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New directive on health services

Even stronger incentives for professional cards may arrive from the new European action on health services, e.g. because of the interest of the Community to know those health competences which are rare, insofar corresponding to illnesses which are rare themselves.

For psychotherapists, it is important to be all active in this new perspective

Art. 12 is envisaging the kind of networks of excellence that our German colleagues launched in the seminar attended also by Jorge Gravanita

But we should become more specific, in order to meet the EU interest, support, funding

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EU project on Psychological Aid for Victims of Terrorist Attacks

The reasons for the EU to enhance this accreditation of competences: firstly, and generally, the emergency following any disaster recalls a

lot of different organisations, often chaotically overlapping with each other, and all Public Authorities are interested to receive from the professional organisations a hierarchy of the competences accredited in view of these emergencies

secondly, the embarrassment of the Public Authorities is a specific goal of any terrorist attack, and a good preparation of an appropriate response is specifically interesting to the Public Authorities

thirdly, the EU is directly interested to reduce the possibility of the terrorist attacks to differentiate among the various member States, increasing their divisions towards the foreign policy by this violent method; a European level of coordination of the interventions has an added value in this case

fourthly, all the EU is interested to enhance the collaboration of the geographically distant competences towards the rare illnesses, not covered locally; luckily, the trauma following a terrorist attack is still a rare illness, having anyhow the right to rapidly obtain the best qualified professional intervention, whatever could be the place and the moment of this need.

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Centralisation and de-centralisation

In the Continental system, the geographical proximity assures the empirical control of the professional community on a correct accreditation of specific competences.

This proximity should be as strict as possible, but a good compromise between different needs could be the province-county level

This basic level should be controlled by the national association, linked to the European Federation, under the CEPLIS umbrella

This four-levels-system could combine proximity with general methodology

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EFPA and EUROPSY Since 1996, EFPA is working to define optimal

standards for psychological training and practice EuroPsy is the result of EU-funded projects within the

program Leonardo da Vinci We may now certify those universities which have

enough of each necessary part of the psychological training,

And also those psychologists who comply with the good standards of practice

Initially for the basic level, and later for the advanced levels in the various fields of the profession, the basic being controlled by the Chambers, the specific ones by the learned societies

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The Italian member association of EFPA: INPA

The Italian Network of Psychologists’ Associations includes:

the Chamber, gathering 75.000 psychologists FISSP, Italian Federation of Scientific Societies

in Psychology, gathering 6.000 colleagues and a dozen of specific learned societies

AIP, gathering 800 university teachers in Psychology

AUPI, the Union of Italian Psychologists

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ECP 2015 in Milan

INPA will host the European Congress of psychology in July 2015 in conjunction with the World Expo, devoted to energy and nutrition

It will be an important opportunity for all Psychologists to meet decision makers on themes highly interesting for us and for them too

The preparatio of the ECP has already started: we welcome any collaboration

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Let’s work together Let’s work together

pierangelo.sardi@multiwire.net

+39 3484112551