More courage, more trust: what the liberal professions expect from Europe
My position
Europe needs to trust the people who carry responsibility. That means fewer new rules and controls, more room for professional judgement and the courage to tackle necessary change.
What I heard in Mainz
At a political evening in the state parliament in Mainz, almost 100 guests from politics, business and the liberal professions discussed how to strengthen the liberal professions and, with them, the economic and social future of a region. I moderated the panel discussion. Representatives of architects, pharmacists and tax advisers raised three concerns that were strikingly similar:
- Simpler and faster procedures, from construction to digital administration.
- Quality instead of the cheapest price, above all when planning services are awarded.
- Trust and independence: trust in the competence of the professions and protection of their independence from profit-driven interests.
Two words stayed with me in particular: courage and trust.
Why this is also a European question
Much of what affects the liberal professions in everyday life is co-decided in Brussels: procurement law, rules for professions, data protection, digitalisation. Three examples:
Cutting red tape. The European Commission has set itself the goal of reducing administrative burdens for businesses by at least 25 percent, and by 35 percent for small and medium-sized enterprises. The so-called omnibus packages are the tool for this.
Quality over price. The Commission’s proposal for a Public Procurement Act of 9 September 2026 provides that, as a rule, the best price-quality ratio counts in public contracts and not the lowest price.
Rules for professions. Under EU Directive 2018/958, Member States must check whether new rules for professions are proportionate and consult those affected. It is one of the instruments meant to prevent unnecessarily strict regulation.
My assessment
More trust does not mean less responsibility. Standards and liability remain. What matters is what reaches people on the ground:
1. Small offices and practices. Cutting red tape has to be felt where professionals work, and not only in Brussels statistics.
2. The weighting. For planning services, quality must be weighted clearly above price.
3. Independence. It is not a privilege of the professions but a protection for everyone who relies on their independent judgement: patients, clients and building owners.
The question that has stayed with me since: how do we create more trust again instead of ever more rules and controls?
Status: October 2026.