Italy has not yet recognised professional qualifications and services of Croatian workers

Please, could someone remind Italy that Croatia is now a European Member State, hence its workers are European too? The Balkan country joined the Union on July 1, 2013 and Italy seems to have forgotten about it: we haven’t implemented our laws to include Croatian workers. The reminder has been gently sent by the European Commission which, into the April infringements package, has sent a reasoned opinion to ask Italy to “fully implement” the Directives regulating the norms in the field of right of establishment and freedom to provide services to the accession of the Republic of Croatia. Namely, the directives on the recognition of professional qualifications, on the facilitation of the effective exercise by lawyers of freedom to provide services and on the attainment of freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services in respect of activities of self-employed persons and of intermediaries engaging in the trade and distribution of toxic products. Member States, reminded the Commission, had to adopt and publish “by the date of accession of Croatia to the Union at the latest” (that is, by July 1, 2013) the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the concerned directives. In addition, Member States had to immediately communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions. Italy did not implement at all or did not implement completely this directive into national law, and shall give satisfactory replies to the Commission within two months to avoid the Commission to refer it to the EU Court of Justice.

The Commission has also urged Italy to implement the directive on safety of medicines. The EU pharmacovigilance Directive specifies the requirements for monitoring the safety of medicines on the European market and the prevention, detection and assessment of adverse reactions to medicines. Member States were required to turn this Directive into national law by 28 October 2013, and Italy has failed to do this. In case of failure to inform the Commission of measures taken within two months, the Commission could refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The third reasoned opinion will be sent to Italy for its ineffective policy of environment protection. The European Commission asked Italy to upgrade the protection a large oak forest, which is part of Natura 2000, the EU-wide network of protected natural areas. The forest, in the Cascina Tre Pini (area of Varese, Lombardy), “is known to be in poor condition,” as remarked by Brussels.

In addition, the forest is classified as a special area of conservation. An infringement was opened on the matter in 2012, and although Italy has submitted a draft management plan for the site, no plan or measures to upgrade the protected status of the area have been adopted. The Commission, reads the text, “is not convinced that the measures suggested in the draft plan are adequate to address the ongoing problems or their root cause – in particular the air emissions from nearby Milan Malpensa airport.”