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Liberalization of Closed Professions: Opening Pandora’s Box

On February 16, 2011, the Greek parliament plenary passed a bill on liberalizing so-called "closed professions." The deregulation of closed professions, which has drawn strong criticism both from the opposition parties and members of the closed profession categories that will be opened, is one of the most important demands made by the International Monetary Fund and European Union in exchange for Greece's drawing on the EUR 110 billion bailout to avoid sovereign debt default. The important role of the services sector in both the Greek economy and in consumers’ welfare demonstrates the necessity of liberalization. Lots of discussions have taken place on the matter of regulating liberal professions, ways of liberalization, and opening of such sectors to competition. However, eliminating regulatory restrictions governing liberal professions requires a thorough analysis and a careful consideration as to the type and characteristics of the market for each individual professional service, because each single professional activity has unique features that necessarily affect the required level of regulation. Hence, in the author’s view, Greece should begin by taking small steps forward instead of trying to change, overnight, a whole regulatory framework which has defined for many years the rights and obligations of Greek professionals and consumers. Time will tell whether Greece has made a step towards the desirable reform of professional services’ sector or the whole reform was just another “collateral�? for the repayment of Greece’s loan.