Keywords
Summary

Keywords

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1. Freedom of movement for persons - Freedom of establishment - Freedom to provide services - Workers - Equal treatment - Tourist guides and guide-interpreters - Access to the profession - Nationality requirement - Not permitted - Obligation of Member States to establish a procedure for examining the equivalence of diplomas and other qualifications required by national law with those obtained in the Member State of origin

(EEC Treaty, Arts 48, 52 and 59)

2. Freedom to provide services - Tourist guides accompanying tourist groups from another Member State - Licence required as evidence of a professional qualification recognized by the authorities of the Member State where the services are to be performed - Not permitted

(EEC Treaty, Art. 59)

3. Member States - Obligations - Commission' s supervisory task - Duty of Member States - Cooperation in inquiries regarding their failure to perform obligations under the Treaty

(EEC Treaty, Art. 5)

Summary

1. Articles 48, 52 and 59 of the Treaty, which require the elimination of any discrimination against Community nationals on grounds of nationality with regard to access to employment, establishment and the provision of services, preclude a Member State from reserving access to the profession of tourist guide and guide-interpreter to its own nationals, whether that profession is pursued on a self-employed basis or under a contract of employment.

They also require Member States to establish a procedure for examining the qualifications acquired by Community nationals who hold a diploma as tourist guide or guide-interpreter issued in another Member State and comparing them with those required by national law.

A Member State which receives a request to admit a person to a profession to which access, under national law, depends upon the possession of a diploma or a professional qualification must take into consideration the diplomas, certificates and other evidence of qualifications which the person concerned has acquired in order to exercise the same profession in another Member State by making a comparison between the specialized knowledge and abilities certified by those diplomas and the knowledge and qualifications required by the national rules.

2. Article 59 of the Treaty is to be interpreted as precluding a Member State from making the provision of services by tourist guides travelling with a group of tourists from another Member State, where those services consist in guiding such tourists in places other than museums or historical monuments which may be visited only with a specialized professional guide, subject to possession of a licence which requires specific training evidenced by a diploma.

3. The failure of a Member State to comply with a request from the Commission to communicate the text of national regulations in a field covered by the Treaty makes the achievement of the Commission' s task more difficult and is therefore a breach of the obligation of cooperation laid down by Article 5 of the Treaty.