This week, the RIBA welcomed the news that the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) has voted unanimously to back its motion in support of Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications.
Put forward to the ACE General Assembly by the RIBA last week, the motion calls upon ACE Member Organisations to support architecture as a global profession, with Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications (MRPQ) as a key enabler, and calls upon the European Commission and the UK Government to agree to continue to recognise each other’s qualifications after Brexit.
Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications has been an essential facilitator of the European architecture sector’s global prominence. MRPQ permits the mobility of professionals within Europe, allowing them to move freely and practice their occupation or provide services abroad. Previously, an architect, doctor or lawyer looking to work in another country would need to go through a complex process of validation – and in many cases requalification – before they could take up a job. MRPQ simplifies this process and significantly reduces the barriers to the movement of skilled professionals, whilst enabling architectural practices to benefit from the best talent from across Europe.
In the RIBA’s recent member survey on Brexit, architects expressed concern that when the UK leaves the EU practices will find it harder to recruit and retain the best talent in the profession. This will, in turn, undermine Europe’s reputation for quality and professionalism in architecture around the world.
This unanimous move by the General Assembly of the ACE demonstrates the strength of feeling across the profession in Europe on this issue and sends a clear message to the European Commission and Parliament and national governments to seek to protect MRPQ.
The RIBA President Ben Derbyshire says:
“We put this motion forward to the council and the unanimous adoption by our colleagues in Europe illustrates how important this is for a global profession concerned with attracting and retaining the best talent. We are now calling on the European Commission and Parliament and the UK Government to commit to replicating the provisions of the Professional Qualifications Directive in the Brexit negotiations. It is vital that EU and UK architects can continue to enjoy the benefits of Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications after the UK leaves the EU.”
The motion to support MRPQ was approved unanimously by the ACE General Assembly.
