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The Philippine government is considering Belgium as a new market for Filipino nurses.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said talks that could lead to the enactment of a mutual recognition arrangement for Filipino nurses are now underway.
“This could result in the deployment of our nurses in Belgium and probably even to other member-countries of the European Union,” Baldoz said in an interview.
Foreign nurses apparently encounter difficulty in entering Belgium due to restrictions imposed by the European Commission.
The European Commission passed in 2005 Directive 2005/36/EC which limits workers.
The European Directive is the relevant law on equivalency which consolidates the rules currently regulating the recognition of professional qualifications.
“Based on the directive, licensed Filipino nurses still have to undergo course adaptation to elevate their credentials to be at par with the Belgian nursing curriculum,” Baldoz said.