Further progress is also needed in the area of the mutual recognition of diplomas in art studies.

I have in mind, for example, the mutual recognition of diplomas, and the easing of the transition into working life.

Initial steps towards this goal are a technical study and negotiations on the mutual recognition of diplomas and certificates.

It will also provide for the mutual recognition of diplomas and other professional qualifications throughout the EEA.

The general system so set up for the mutual recognition of diplomas and qualifications means that liberal professionals may exercise their activities in any Member State.

It is clear to us all that it will require a great effort on our part if we are to create regulations for mutual recognition of diplomas.

Mr President, this is a problem we are going to have to resolve, within the more general framework of the system of mutual recognition of diplomas.

Now the enlargement procedure, and its corollaries - the principles of free movement and mutual recognition of diplomas - presuppose real progress in education.

Mr President, the directive on mutual recognition of diplomas in architecture is one of the series of regulations essential for completing the common European market.

This would complete the general system for the mutual recognition of diplomas and qualifications and, for this reason, our group will be voting in favour of the report.

It therefore ought to be possible for individual countries, irrespective of mutual recognition of diplomas, to enact their own laws or regulations governing proof of professional aptitude.

If we succeed in achieving this ideal, we will arrive at more useful arrangements for mutual recognition of diplomas, and thus advance along the path to European unity.

They are in agreement about special support for SMEs, in agreement about new training methods and the better mutual recognition of diplomas, but not in agreement about the decision-making levels.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the directive on the mutual recognition of diplomas in architecture is probably one of the few EU directives with which all those concerned, almost without exception, are satisfied.

The report produced by Mrs Gebhardt concerns a proposal for a directive which would include professions originally governed by sectoral directives in the general system for the mutual recognition of diplomas and qualifications.

In the commission's annual assessment of compliance with European standards in areas like food safety, anti-corruption efforts, farm databases and mutual recognition of diplomas, Poland - with its large agricultural sector - fared the worst.

All measures in the field of education policy, such as Comenius, Erasmus, Grundtvig, e-learning, the mutual recognition of diplomas and now the Europass, add value to Europe by lending it a human dimension.

There is a great deal of work to do here because we all know about the obstacles to the mutual recognition of diplomas, low mobility and the differences in academic approach to university courses in the various countries of Europe.

But the big problems that exist when it comes to implementing all this lie in the fact that there are major obstacles in, for example, the mutual recognition of diplomas awarded as a result of training in the various Member States.

However, in all our efforts it is important that we do not lose sight of the cultural independence of the individual Member States, and remember that regulations about mutual recognition of diplomas must not lead to uniformity of educational content.

I therefore welcome the work carried out by the rapporteur to increase responsibility in terms of safety and guarantees of commitment in this sector and also the measures on professional competence which involve high-quality training and mutual recognition of diplomas and licences.

Thirdly, I believe that in the field of education we must also aim to create networks of excellence and promote mobility between our countries, just as we must promote the mutual recognition of diplomas and qualifications, so as to make the European labour market more fluid.

It is equally irritating when, as happened recently, students are kept waiting for their residence permits for no good reason, or the mutual recognition of diplomas for access to the regulated professions in European countries is either delayed or simply refused out of an egotistical desire to put up barriers.

Article 57 of the Treaty of Rome as amended by the Maastricht Treaty requires the Council to issue directives for 'the mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualification' so that anyone who qualifies in one member state is allowed to work freely in another.

Mutual recognition of diplomas and licences conferring a right to provide services in the sports sector throughout the European Union will certainly help to guarantee the free flow of students, sports people and employees in Europe and will improve the opportunities for people in this industry to find good jobs.