EU imposes sanctions on Portugal for neglecting to acknowledge the qualifications of nurses
The European Commission has issued formal warnings to several countries that have not fully transposed Directive (EU) 2024/505 on the recognition of professional qualifications of nurses responsible for general care trained in Romania into their national laws. The deadline for the transposition of these regulations was on March 4, 2025.
Countries that have failed to comply with the European Union's directive include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain.
The directive in question aims to facilitate the recognition of Romanian diplomas obtained before Romania's accession to the European Union by nurses responsible for general care who have undergone a special refresher program. The refresher program allows nurses to update their qualifications to meet the new European standards.
Countries have been given a two-month window to report their measures for transposing the directive into national law to the European Commission. Failure to meet this deadline may result in further action from the European Union.
Footnotes:
[1] The aforementioned countries are the EU members who have not communicated their measures to fully transpose Directive (EU) 2024/505 into national law.
[2] The directive facilitates the recognition of Romanian diplomas for nurses responsible for general care obtained before Romania's EU accession.
[3] The deadline for transposition was March 4, 2025. Countries were given two months to report their transposition measures. Failure to comply may result in further action from the European Commission.
- Despite the deadline for transposition, countries such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain have yet to fully implement Directive (EU) 2024/505 on recognizing Romanian diplomas for nurses responsible for general care, potentially impacting health-and-wellness sectors in these nations.
- As Portugal fails to comply with the EU's regulations, medical-conditions management and increasing collaboration in science between health professionals in Portugal and their European counterparts could be delayed, affecting the overall quality of health services and progress in the field of science.
