Proposal for integration of the professions of Interior Architects, Landscape Architects and Spatial Planners into the Sectoral System under the PQD Position Paper of the Federal Chamber of German Architects (BAK) The ongoing evaluation of the PQD has proven the fact that cross border professional mobility in the EU is working particularly well for Sectoral Professions. By contrast, the professions falling under the General System of the PQD are facing considerable barriers in the context of both recognition of professional qualifications and market access. In view of this evidence and due to negative experience made in the field, the 16.450 Interior Architects (5350), Landscape Architects (6900) and Spatial Planners (4200) represented by the BAK have decided to analyse the possibility of integration of the named professions into the Sectoral System giving access to automatic recognition under the PQD. This study was conducted in cooperation with the European umbrella organisations of the professions (European Council of Interior Architects, ECIA; European Federation for Landscape Architecture, EFLA; European Council of Spatial Planners, ECTP) and detailed on specific educational standards (curriculum and duration of training), on the existence of the professions in the 27 EU Member States and beyond as well as on existing barriers for professional mobility in both cases of temporary provision of services and establishment in another Member State. The results of the study prove that all three professions are facing serious problems with market access when working abroad. These problems are based on alleged nonexistence of the professions in the host Member State, on deliberate retardations of administrative procedures, on alleged obligations to cooperate with professionals already established in the host Member State and finally on discrimination due to the nationality of the incoming professional. With regard to educational standards of the three professions in the 27 EU Member States the study has shown following results: •
Interior Architects – common educational standards (ECIA Educational Charta) and Masters degree after at least five years of educational training
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Landscape Architects – common educational standards (EFLA Educational Charta) and Masters degree after at least five years of educational training
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Spatial Planners – almost finalised common educational standards (ECTP Educational Charta) and Masters degree (MA) after at least five years of educational training
Moreover, the attached surveys give detailed information about training requirements, the conditions giving access to the profession and the overall existence of the professions in the 27 EU Member States and beyond. The data collected with the substantial contribution of the ECIA, EFLA and ECTP provide also information on the practice of the professions. These organisations are already campaigning for a high level of professional training by providing EU-wide accreditation of academic training in universities. Based on the homogeneity of training within each of the three professions we suggest to extend the regime of automatic recognition of the PQD onto Interior Architects, Landscape Architects and Spatial Planners. This would not only alleviate the ongoing fragmentation of educational standards caused by the “Bologna process”, but would also improve the conditions of cross-border mobility of the three professions in the Common Market. In order to achieve these goals, the provisions of the PQD relating to architects can serve as a model for a coherent and systematic integration of the three professions into the Sectoral System. Therefore we ask the European Commission to consider this proposal as part of the evaluation and future amendment of the PQD and to recommend a possible extension of automatic recognition onto the professions of Interior Architects, Landscape Architects and Spatial Planners as policy option within the Green Paper awaited for 2012, dealing with possible amendments of the PQD.
Bundesarchitektenkammer 21 January 2011
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