(1)

Following the unprovoked Russian military aggression and invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, which the European Union has condemned in the strongest possible terms, the European Union is facing an unprecedented inflow of people fleeing from the war and seeking protection. The number of people displaced from their homes and forced to flee Ukraine has reached some four million.

(2)

In its communication ‘European solidarity with refugees and those fleeing war in Ukraine’ of 8 March 2022 (1), the Commission outlined the substantial support the EU had made available to help people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as the Member States receiving them. This includes direct humanitarian aid, emergency civil protection assistance, support at the border, as well as a clear legal status allowing those fleeing the war to receive immediate protection in the EU.

(3)

In its communication ‘Welcoming those fleeing war in Ukraine: Readying Europe to meet the needs’ of 23 March 2022 (2) the Commission sets out measures to help people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to ensure they can effectively access their rights. The measures include not only immediate ones to provide shelter, humanitarian aid and access to healthcare, but also action to ensure that people are smoothly integrated into the host countries and have access to education, housing and jobs. Government authorities, NGOs, and volunteers in Member States, particularly in the countries of first entry (Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary) but also in those of final destination, are doing their utmost to provide support and protection to people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

(4)

Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 (3) which activated the temporary protection mechanism set out in Directive 2001/55/EC (4), provides people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with a clear legal status as soon as they arrive in the European Union. Temporary protection will in the first instance last 1 year and could automatically be renewed twice for 6 months each time. Temporary protection includes a residence permit, welfare support and healthcare, and access to housing, education and employment.

(5)

Article 12 of Directive 2001/55/EC states that Member States must authorise people enjoying temporary protection to engage in ‘employed or self-employed activities, subject to rules applicable to the profession’ as well as in activities such as educational opportunities for adults, vocational training and practical workplace experience.

(6)

The right to access the labour market is a key aspect of temporary protection. Experience shows that non-EU nationals, and in particular refugees, often have to take jobs below their qualification level (5). Providing a simple and rapid recognition mechanism contributes greatly to ensuring that people enjoying temporary protection can work in jobs for which they are qualified. This facilitates their integration and leads to better use of their skills, benefiting both the individual and the host community. It also ensures people gain relevant experience and skills during their period of temporary protection, which adds value to their qualifications when returning to the home country.

(7)

The Commission’s 2021-2027 action plan on integration and inclusion (6) recognises that facilitating the recognition of qualifications acquired in non-EU countries and increasing their comparability with EU qualifications is key to faster and fairer inclusion of refugees and migrants in the labour market. It also recognises that many highly educated migrants and refugees – in particular women – are over-qualified for their job, which may lead to depreciation of their skills. The action plan encourages Member States to ensure that procedures for recognising foreign qualifications are quick, fair, transparent and affordable.

(8)

If a Member State has opted to regulate a specific profession (7), people enjoying temporary protection will need to obtain recognition of their professional qualifications to engage in employed or self-employed regulated activities in that profession. Depending on the specific Member State, this can include for example different groups of health, teaching, legal, social or crafts professions. The recognition of third country nationals’ professional qualifications takes place at national level, applying the law and procedures of the host Member State unless international agreements apply.

(9)

For non-regulated occupations, requirements for employment are not regulated by law and can vary from very specific to very general. For these occupations there are no regulatory barriers to employing a person whose qualifications have not been recognised and there is no single process in place for the recognition of qualifications for purposes of entry into non-regulated occupations (8).

(10)

Some Member States and regions encounter shortages in a number of occupations across industrial ecosystems (9), including in several regulated professions. Recognition of professional qualifications can help address some of these shortages and achieve a more balanced labour market.

(11)

Recognition of professional qualifications should be complemented by a framework that allows the exercise of the professions in practice, avoids bureaucratic barriers and offers advice to those who need it.

(12)

For people fleeing the war, recognition of their qualifications will not be the first thing on their minds. It is nonetheless important to provide signposting and basic information so that people have it to hand once they need it. In addition to Member States providing information, the Commission put in place the ‘EU solidarity with Ukraine’ website (10).

(13)

In addition to Ukrainian nationals, Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 provides that Member States must apply either temporary protection or adequate protection under national law in respect of nationals of non-EU countries other than Ukraine who can prove they were legally residing in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 on the basis of a permanent resident permit. In addition to those enjoying temporary protection, the Commission therefore encourages Member States to, to the extent possible under national law, apply this Recommendation to people that have fled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and are beneficiaries of adequate protection under national law, in accordance with that Decision.

(14)

Directive 2005/36/EC (11) does not apply to third country nationals including those enjoying temporary protection. It contains rules for recognition of third country qualifications held by EU citizens. It imposes an obligation on Member States to not recognise any qualification held by EU or non-EU citizens relating to the professions listed in Title III, Chapter III, unless the minimum training conditions set out in that chapter are fulfilled. These professions are: doctors, certain specialised doctors, nurses responsible for general care, dental practitioners, veterinary surgeons, midwives, pharmacists and architects. Where professionals fleeing Russian aggression do not meet these minimum training requirements, it is essential to identify solutions how they can obtain the missing competences or how an appropriate and quick integration in the labour market can be achieved.

(15)

The current situation is characterised by a rapid inflow of a very large number of people, many of whom may be well-qualified. The long-established recognition systems and procedures in the Member States may not be designed to process so many applications at once. In particular, competent authorities in the host Member States might not be in a position to assess each one of them on a case-by-case basis and carry out a corresponding detailed analysis.

(16)

Information on Ukrainian qualifications, the Ukrainian qualifications system and the Ukrainian qualifications framework is crucial for Member States to be able to streamline processes and evaluate applications for the recognition of qualifications quickly.

(17)

Ukraine is a member of the European Higher Education Area that was created under the Bologna Process. The Bologna Process brings coherence to higher education systems across the European region and encourages fair and transparent recognition of qualifications. One of its main objectives is to support staff and student mobility. Countries participating in the Bologna Process have agreed to ensure the mutual recognition of qualifications for academic purposes. Rules on recognition of higher education qualifications for both professional purposes and further learning are set by the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (the Lisbon Recognition Convention) (12) to which all Member States except Greece, as well as Ukraine and other non-EU countries are parties.

(18)

The ENIC-NARIC network (European Network of Information Centres in the European Region-National Academic Recognition Information Centres in the European Union) developed the Erasmus+ Q-entry project, a database that covers Member States and non-EU countries and provides information on school-leaving qualifications giving access to higher education. This database includes information on Ukrainian qualifications and can be used to support the recognition process for people enjoying temporary protection.

(19)

Member States may face the challenge that applicants cannot provide evidence of formal qualifications. People fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may have been forced to leave without their original documentation of qualifications. Article VII of the Lisbon Recognition Convention obliges its parties to take all reasonable and feasible steps - within and in line with their respective legal framework - to develop alternative ways of assessment of the qualifications of refugees in situations where no documentary evidence can prove such qualification. The ‘Recommendation on the Recognition of Refugees’ Qualifications under the Lisbon Recognition Convention and Explanatory Memorandum’ (13), gives further guidance how Member States should proceed in this situation to properly implement Article VII of the convention.

(20)

Ukraine is one of the European Training Foundation’s longstanding partner countries. The European Training Foundation has created a resource hub (14) to support the recognition of qualifications, skills and studies from Ukraine. The resource hub will include information and documents such as reports and assessments on Ukrainian qualifications, information on the Ukrainian qualification system and framework, and information on the Ukrainian education and training system more widely. It will also contain labour market studies and analyses, project reports, contact points, and links to related websites such as qualifications databases. It will also share resources developed under the Erasmus+ Programme by the National Academic Recognition Information Centres (NARIC) like, for example, the Scand-D project with more than 300 Ukrainian diplomas featured. The resource hub will link to relevant databases and information on the Ukrainian higher education system and its academic qualifications, available on the Your Europe’s website (15) and on ENIC-NARIC network website (16).

(21)

The eTranslation tool developed by the Commission has been adapted to add Ukrainian as an available language. Translation from Russian is also possible and can be useful, given that many professionals in Ukraine obtained their diplomas in Russian. The tool allows recognition of text in pictures or scans of documents (optical character recognition, OCR). This will enable competent authorities to save time and speed up processes.

(22)

There is a high and increasing demand for healthcare professionals to meet the immediate needs of people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Skilled professionals with various backgrounds in healthcare could contribute to meeting these needs. Special emphasis needs to be put on paediatrics and related medical specialties due to the high number of children among the people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and on mental health services as people fleeing from war might suffer from severe traumatic experiences. The language barrier should not be an obstacle to treating those people as soon as possible to mitigate the damage. Where direct oral communication is crucial for trust-building and successful treatment, Ukrainian-speaking professionals could provide the necessary service.

(23)

The Commission published a guidance note during the COVID-19 crisis covering the recognition of health professionals with qualifications from outside the EU/EFTA (17).

(24)

Given the number of children that have fled Ukraine during the war, there is high demand for Ukrainian-speaking teachers who can help those children to be included in schools and have a stable routine as soon as possible. Experts have underlined how important a school routine is for children, as it can support them emotionally during an overwhelming and frightening time (18). It is crucial to ensure that governments and other authorities have the resources and capacity to provide both the displaced and local populations with access to full, equitable and quality education. This applies at all levels – early childhood education and care, primary, secondary, vocational, and higher education. Authorities should make the best use of teachers and other education personnel among the displaced to achieve this and to raise intercultural awareness within the hosting education system (19). Distance schooling can be explored where no options for in-classroom teaching are available. The Erasmus+ School Education Gateway provides access to supportive material, guidance documents and educational resources for teachers and other staff, also in Ukrainian language.

(25)

A Commission Decision of 19 March 2007 set up the group of coordinators for the recognition of professional qualifications (20) to, among other things, establish cooperation between Member States’ authorities and the Commission on questions relating to the recognition of professional qualifications. Member States may have already developed extensive systems on how to assess and recognise non-EU qualifications. This group can serve as a forum for the Commission and Member States to maintain a continuous dialogue to monitor the effective implementation of this Recommendation. Involving representatives of people fleeing Russian aggression, Ukrainian competent authorities and civil society are crucial for the effective implementation of these recommendations.

(26)

The Commission can provide Member States, upon their request, with tailor made expertise to implement these recommendations under its Technical Support Instrument.