1st Meeting of the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications  Joint Committee

16 April 2019, Brussels

Joint report

The first meeting of the Joint Committee on Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications (hereafter, the MRA Committee) established under Article 26.2.1(b) of CETA took place in Brussels on 16 April 2019.

The Committee acknowledged the receipt of the documents submitted by the Canadian Architectural Licencing Authorities (CALA) and the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) to the MRA Committee, with a view to providing a joint recommendation for negotiations of a CETA Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between Canada and the EU concerning the profession of architects.

The Committee discussed the submitted documents in light of requirements outlined in the Chapter 11 of CETA and determined that they sufficiently provide:

a) rationale and information on the envisaged economic impact; and

b) an indication of the compatibility of licensing and qualification regimes in EU and Canada.

The Committee therefore agreed that the documents provided by CALA and ACE meet the requirements of CETA Chapter 11 and constitute an acceptable MRA recommendation.

The Committee then agreed to engage in further discussions with a view to establishing the necessary next steps in the process as provided by CETA Article 11.3. During that process, the specific terms and conditions, as initially recommended by ACE and CALA, for a future binding MRA on architects’ qualifications will be, to the extent necessary, elaborated and developed with a view to their future adoption.

The representatives of the EU clarified that from the EU side, the entity representing, and negotiating for, the EU in that process will be the European Commission. It will be for the Canadian side to establish their appropriate negotiating entity or entities. Finally, the EU recalled that, as outlined in Article 11.3 of CETA, once negotiations among negotiating entities are concluded, the MRA committee would need to adopt a decision. Following a subsequent fulfilment of respective internal requirements, the MRA would become binding on the Parties.