Obstacles to the Free Movement of Professionals: Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications in the European Union

Abstract

Abstract European states are experiencing a shortage of healthcare workers, and hiring managers are increasingly looking for foreign-trained health professionals to fill care shortages. However, these workers often experience difficulties with the transfer of their professional qualifications across national borders. This article investigates the recognition of Polish nursing qualifications in the EU, studying the directives for mutual recognition of nursing qualifications, negotiations over Poland’s Accession Treaty, and efforts by the Polish Chamber of Nurses and Midwives to reverse its discriminatory conditions. It is argued that the exclusion of the Polish nursing unions from the accession negotiations constitutes a democratic deficit, and that the creation of a single European market is not yet achieved. The findings are placed in a larger discussion about the Europeanization of healthcare delivery, the harmonization of curricula in higher education, and the consequences of these developments for the free movement of skilled workers within the EU.

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