§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the effect of the European medical directives on United Kingdom registered medical practitioners who are also United Kingdom citizens, and who obtained their primary medical qualification outside the United Kingdom. [31330]
§ Mr. MaloneEuropean legislation deals only with the mutual recognition of medical qualifications issued by member states of the European Economic Area. Each member state may decide for itself whether to recognise medical qualifications gained outside the EEA. The competent authority in each member state must, in considering an application for registration from a person whose qualification has been gained outside the EEA, take account of and give appropriate weight to the fact that an applicant's primary medical qualification has been recognised by another EEA state and the knowledge, experience and qualifications gained by an applicant in an EEA state, subsequent to obtaining his primary medical qualification outside the EEA.