The European Commission decided Wednesday to suspend its ongoing infringement cases concerning national measures that restrict the free movement of university students to Austria and Belgium.
Both countries have been given five years to submit supplementary data that can justify their restrictive measures.
In January 2007, the commission issued a first warning to Austria and Belgium regarding restrictions of access to universities, mainly in the field of medical and veterinary studies, by holders of secondary education diplomas from other European Union (EU) member states.
Austria introduced a quota system for medicine and dental studies in June 2006, whereby 75 percent of places would be reserved for holders of Austrian diplomas, 20 percent of study places for holders of secondary education diplomas awarded in other member states, and 5 percent for holders of third country diplomas.
As this measure leads to indirect discrimination on the grounds of nationality, the commission, the EU's executive body, sent Austria "a letter of formal notice" on Jan. 24, 2007 for non-compliance with an earlier ruling of the European Court of Justice.
In May 2007, Austria replied to the letter of formal notice, arguing that without these restrictive measures, a problem could arise in the future for the Austrian health system, as a result of a potential shortage of health professionals practicing in Austria.
The commission has therefore decided to suspend the case for a period of five years in order to give the Austrian authorities the opportunity to provide complete and detailed data to justify that the measures imposed are necessary and proportionate.
During the five years, the commission will continue to monitor the situation in Austria.
In Belgium, the parliament of the French-speaking community adopted a decree in June 2006, by which it introduced, for a certain number of medical studies, a quota of 70 percent for students who are resident in Belgium. The Belgian quota covers nine separate subject areas in total, including medical and veterinary studies.
The Belgian reply to the commission's letter of formal notice also partly convinced the commission that without an appropriate safeguard measure, the French-speaking community would be unable to maintain sufficient levels of territorial coverage and of quality in its public health system.
The commission therefore has decided to suspend the case for an additional five years.
Source: Xinhua
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