- What the Autonomous Department for the Implementation of European Legislation (ATEEN) of the Ministry of Education is telling students.
- Why Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications is not being applied, particularly to the so-called sectoral professions.
- Why degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, nursing, midwifery, and architecture were excluded from recognition of professional equivalence under Law 4635/2019.
- What applies regarding the Council of State (StE) ruling and which categories are excluded.
- Letter from the Nurses’ Association to the Minister of Education.
By Vangelis Triantis
Hundreds of graduates from private colleges in our country who completed nursing studies in collaboration with UK universities after Brexit have been left “in limbo”. According to official responses from the Autonomous Department for the Implementation of European Legislation (ATEEN) at the Ministry of Education, only those who enrolled in study programmes up to and including December 31, 2020, are recognised as having a valid degree, as provided for by Presidential Decree 21/2024. In other words, only those who obtained a nursing degree by the end of 2020 are recognised.
This is because, from January 1, 2021, onwards, the United Kingdom is no longer connected to the EU and Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications does not apply, particularly to so-called “sectoral professions”, namely doctors, dentists, veterinarians, pharmacists, nurses, midwives and architects, which, under Law 4635/2019, were excluded from professional equivalence recognition. However, this raises questions about the Ministry of Education, given that students remain unprotected with regard to the recognition of their qualifications.
ATEEN’s response to a nursing graduate of Metropolitan College
One of the study cases in which graduates encounter difficulties is nursing, as offered by Metropolitan College in collaboration with Queen Margaret University in the United Kingdom. A few months ago, a Nursing graduate contacted ATEEN (the Autonomous Department for the Implementation of European Legislation) of the Ministry of Education. ATEEN is the public authority responsible for receiving applications and issuing decisions on the recognition of professional qualifications from EU member states, as well as the recognition of professional equivalence of degrees from EU member states or third countries. The nursing graduate requested official information on the procedure they must follow to obtain a license to practise as a nurse in Greece. The response was explicit and unequivocal: Students who enrolled on the programme after January 1, 2021, do not hold a recognised degree.
Presidential Decree 21/2024 regulates the recognition of degrees for individuals enrolled in relevant study programmes before December 31, 2020.
If enrolment in the specific programme took place after this date, it is not possible to recognise professional equivalence, as nursing falls under the exceptions to such recognition (see Article 168 of Law 4635/2019).
“Given Brexit, the United Kingdom is no longer linked to the EU as of January 1, 2021, and Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications does not apply,” the ATEEN response states.
Read Presidential Decree 21/2024.
Council of State (StE) Decision No. 890/2025 and ATEEN’s response
ATEEN provided a similar response to a nursing graduate who asked whether Council of State (StE) Decision No. 890/2025 affects the recognition of their degree. This decision was issued following an appeal by a physiotherapist who had obtained their degree from a college in Greece. They requested recognition of professional equivalence with a Greek university (AEI). They enrolled on the programme before Brexit and completed their studies after the United Kingdom left the EU.
The Council of State ruled that, “in such cases, the recognition of professional equivalence of qualifications under the provisions of Presidential Decree 38/2010 aims to recognise individuals’ ability to practise a specific professional activity, provided they acquired the relevant professional qualifications by exercising — at least at the start of their studies — rights grounded in primary EU law, under the guarantees of respect and mutual trust governing relations between states within the Union’s legal order.” The Council also held that “the recognition of the professional equivalence of degrees from educational institutions in the United Kingdom does not contravene Articles 16 and 4(1) of the Constitution in the aforementioned cases.
However, ATEEN informed the nursing graduate that this particular Council of State decision does not apply to nursing graduates.
“Degrees in nursing do not fall under the recognition of professional equivalence (Article 168 of Law 4635/2019). Recognition is only possible under the conditions set out in Presidential Decree 21/2024. Decision 890/2025 does not affect Presidential Decree 21/2024,” the response from ATEEN states.
Letter from the Nurses’ Association to the Minister of Education
The Hellenic Nurses Association (ENE) has raised the issue of the recognition of nursing studies offered by colleges in collaboration with private universities in the United Kingdom with the Minister of Education, Sofia Zacharaki. Specifically, on March 17, 2026, the ENE sent a letter titled “Shortage of Nurses”.
As stated in the letter, “Greece significantly lags behind in terms of the number of nurses per capita”, and “the current situation is further burdened by the ageing of the active nursing workforce”. In this context, they emphasise that “strengthening nursing human resources is not merely an administrative choice, but a legal and institutional necessity”. ENE therefore stresses in its letter that “the immediate and effective resolution of pending issues regarding the professional recognition of nursing degrees obtained abroad is crucial”, as “following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, significant administrative and interpretative obstacles have arisen which slow down or even hinder the integration of graduates from recognised institutions into the Greek labour market”.
In this context, ENE requests that procedures for recognising foreign nursing qualifications be accelerated and simplified, and that the administrative and interpretative barriers that have emerged, especially after Brexit, be removed immediately.
Read the letter in full:
Non-state universities that have been licensed
Law 5094/2024 established a framework for the establishment and operation of branches of foreign universities in Greece. These branches are referred to as Legal Entities of University Education (LEPUs). In June 2025, the Council of State (StE) ruled in decision no. 1918/2025 that Law 5094/2024 is constitutional.
The law sets out the specific criteria and conditions that a Legal Entity of University Education (LEPU) must meet in order to be licensed to operate in the country. In particular, it requires the operation of at least three faculties and stipulates that 80% of teaching staff must hold a doctoral degree. It also sets out specific standards for libraries, laboratories, and so on. Four non-state universities have already been granted licences and are operating in Greece, following recommendations from the Hellenic Authority for Higher Education and approval from the Ministry of Education. These are the University of Nicosia (which has an autonomous presence in Greece), the University of York (in collaboration with City College Thessaloniki), Keele University (in collaboration with Metropolitan College) and the Open University (in collaboration with Anatolia College, Thessaloniki). The question that now remains is what will happen to the degrees awarded by colleges in partnership with British universities to students enrolled from January 1, 2021, until now. Will these students be able to continue studying without receiving a recognised degree, or will a solution be provided?
