CoESS stresses that private security services are explicitly excluded from the scope of the Services Directive 2006/123/EC (Article 2.2), reflecting the fact that authorisations, tasks, competencies, vetting, training and licensing are governed by national legal frameworks across the EU. These rules are essential safeguards for public security, but they also mean that training requirements and professional regulation differ widely between Member States.

Against this background, CoESS expresses high scepticism about the added value and feasibility of including private security services in initiatives aimed at automatic recognition of professional qualifications, such as Common Training Frameworks. CoESS considers that such schemes are not suited to a sector where licensing and compulsory training are rooted in national public security needs and legal obligations that are a pure Member State competency, and therefore calls on the European Commission to exclude private security services from the initiative.

At the same time, CoESS supports practical tools that could help authorities and employers assess qualifications obtained in other Member States and calls for improved cooperation on cross-border background checks, where limited exchange of criminal record information currently creates obstacles to fair mobility in the sector.

You can find the contributions of CoESS to the European Commission consultations here.