Non-equivalence of national educational qualifications

University exchanges, as well as the high degree of mobility which is a feature of certain professions, demand a system of international equivalences of qualifications. Such a system does not exist. In practice the training of persons from different countries possessing the same qualifications (often with the same name) exhibit the widest disparities. In the case of various professions, the qualifications for entry have often been developed haphazardly, so that it is a matter of chance and of definition whether practical experience is essential before membership is granted in another country. The movement of a person possessing a qualification is thus normally restricted to countries which will accept his qualification; if he is obliged to move to a country which does not accept his qualifications, he may be forced to take up a job below his educational level.

Within the EEC/EU, some professionals (hairdressers, midwives, cemetery directors) have Community-wide recognition and mobility, while other professionals (architects, accountants, opticians) cannot move from one EEC/EU country to another and expect their degrees to be recognized. Attempts to rectify this inequality have met with little success due to the inevitable high costs and bureaucratic tie-ups involved.