The European Commission has decided to send Cyprus an official request for information on its national legislation restricting the activities of estate agents. The Law adopted in July 2007, after an initial letter of formal notice was sent in July 2006 concerning the provisions of Law 273/2004, does in fact pose certain conditions upon the recognition of the qualifications of the professionals of other Member States and imposes limits upon the exercise of this profession by legal persons, as well as upon the freedom to provide services in this sector. The Commission considers that these provisions may be incompatible with Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications, and with Articles 43 and 49 of the EC Treaty guaranteeing the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services within the European Union respectively. The letter of formal notice is the first step in an infringement procedure under Article 226 of the EC Treaty. Cyprus has two months to reply.
The Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Cyprus in July 2006 following the adoption of Law 273/2004 on estate agents. The Law of 27 July 2007 amended the 2004 Law, but in doing so it introduced into Cypriot legislation new incompatibilities with Community Law. These amendments have prompted the Commission to send a further letter of formal notice.
This new Law imposes certain conditions upon the recognition of the qualifications of professionals established in the other Member States. These conditions concern qualifications, professional experience and require would-be estate agents to pass an exam proving knowledge of Cypriot legislation in this area, and therefore raise problems of conformity with Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications.
Furthermore, the freedom to provide services in this profession is subject to the obligation to collaborate with an estate agent established in Cyprus, which is contrary to the provisions of this Directive and the principle of the freedom to provide services as laid down by Article 49 of the EC Treaty.
Lastly, the Law requires legal persons active in this area to exercise this activity as their sole corporate purpose. Furthermore, the person or persons exercising the activity of estate agent in a company are required to exercise this activity exclusively in the company that employs them and may not act independently of their employer either for other persons or companies, or on their own account. These two provisions raise problems of compatibility with Article 43 of the EC Treaty, guaranteeing freedom of establishment.
Professional qualifications
The Commission has decided to send a reasoned opinion to nine Member States, namely Ireland, Greece, France, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Hungary, Austria, Portugal and Slovenia, for failing to notify it of their transposition measures for Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications.
This Directive is the result of the reform of the system of recognition of professional qualifications undertaken by the Commission in order to promote flexibility on the labour markets, further liberalise the provision of services, make the recognition of qualifications more automatic and simplify administrative procedures.
The Directive consolidates in a single piece of legislation fifteen directives, including twelve sectoral directives covering the professions of doctor, nurse responsible for general care, dental practitioner, veterinary surgeon, midwife, pharmacist and architect, and three directives which introduced a general system of recognition of professional qualifications and covered most other regulated professions. The Directive simplifies the structure of the system of recognition of qualifications and improves the way it operates. It thus aims to facilitate mobility within the internal market for qualified people moving to another Member State either to provide a service or to settle there permanently.
The latest information on infringement proceedings concerning all Member States is available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/index_en.htm
