European surveying professionals planning to work in another country should ensure that they understand the potential impact of EU legislation in that particular Member State before taking any action, says a new report published today (6 May 2010).

The study, produced by a working group of cadastral and land registry experts from EuroGeographics and The Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE) shows how nine different countries approach different surveying tasks. It uses eight typical activities of cadastral surveyors identified by an earlier joint report to evaluate how the profession could be affected by four relevant articles in the Lisbon Treaty. These relate to the freedom of movement by workers; freedom of establishment; and freedom of providing services.

"The impact of the EU Directives on the cadastral system and surveyors varies from country to country depending on national legal systems, organisational set ups, professional structures and legal interpretations of the treaty articles making it difficult to suggest a Europe-wide approach to meeting these challenges," says CLGE Vice President for GI, Rob Mahoney.

"This report, which benefits from the international working group's knowledge and experience, provides a sound starting point for anyone wishing to understand the impact of EU legislation on cadastral surveyors. Both private and publicly appointed surveyors will find it an invaluable document when seeking to work beyond their national borders."

The report found that whilst national borders represented few restrictions for professional surveyors in Europe, there were specific situations where a detailed knowledge of a country's legal framework is essential - particularly when carrying out work related to the cadastral system. It also says that those thinking of working in another country should consider practical implications such as language skills and the transfer of educational qualifications and examines the effect of developments including the Bologna process and the European Commission's Small Business Act on the activities of surveying practices and licensed surveyors.

President of EuroGeographics, Dorine Burmanje adds: "This report is an excellent example of European cooperation with experts from the public and private sectors working together to share knowledge and experiences. It meets the demand to extend the previous work carried out by EuroGeographics and the CLGE as well as raising awareness of the potential impacts of legislation among our respective members.

"We hope that surveying professionals across Europe will benefit from this insight into how other countries are meeting or planning to meet new legislation. We now propose to build upon this report by collecting examples of professionals who have successfully made the step across borders as well as by adding further reports from other EU Member States."

The report, which can be downloaded at the EuroGeographics webpage
(http://www.eurogeographics.org/sites/default/files/ ImpactEULegislationOnCadastralSurveying2010.pdf) concludes that each country should examine for itself the relevant EU treaty articles from its own national perspective. Depending on the national context, the impact of the EU legislation may differ, which can only be evaluated with a detailed 'internal' know-how of the local legislation and structures.