Since its establishment in the 1970’s, CEPLIS is the unique organisation that represents the interests of the Liberal Professionals at the European level.
The General Assembly has decided at its meeting of the 6th of December 2022 in Brussels to accept the candidature of Associação Nacional dos Profissionais Liberais (ANPL), Portuguese Association of Liberal Professionals for the status of Observer Member of the European Council of the Liberal Professions (CEPLIS).
CEPLIS is an umbrella organisation bringing together national inter-professional associations and European mono-professional ones.
As described in the statutes the objectives of CEPLIS are the coordination and defense of the moral, cultural, scientific and material interests of the Liberal Professions, the implementation of any kind of information or action which may help to achieve its objectives, the creation and participation in all necessary organisations or services, and in general the implementation of all measures required to contribute to accomplishing the objective of the association.
Since its establishment in the 1970’s, CEPLIS is the unique organisation that represents the interests of the Liberal Professionals at the European level.
In practice, CEPLIS is at the same time an observatory, a forum, a lobbying and an embassy of the important socio- economic family of the liberal and regulated professions.
During its long presence at the Community scene, CEPLIS has of course built a broad friendly network with the Union’s institutions and bodies. Today, CEPLIS is:
- an agreed organisation of the European Economic and Social Committee;
- maintains close contacts with the European Commission’s Directorate Generals for Competition, Enterprises, Internal Market and Services, Health, Research, etc;M
- has a solid friendship with a number of MEPs with a particular interest in the liberal professions;
- and is regularly consulted on issues of the European Social Dialogue relevant to our professional activities thanks to a strategic partnership with EUROCADRES, the Council of European Professional and Managerial Staff.
Several times per year CEPLIS is organising or co-organising seminars and conferences aiming at bringing together EU officials with the representatives of the professions, giving the latter the opportunity to do their own lobbying while raising the visibility of the sector. Thanks to its network and efficient action, CEPLIS can proudly claim to have had a considerable impact in the shaping of important EP documents for our professions, as well as in the debate on relevant EU legislation at the level of the European Parliament and Commission.
The National Association of Liberal Professionals (ANPL), is assumed in Portugal as the voice for the defense and promotion of liberal professionals, freelancers and consultants, understood as the “holders of qualifications of an intellectual nature, including those of artistic and cultural, promoting their responsibility, autonomy and independence in the best interests of consumers and the community in general”.
The ANPL is an NG, non-profit making interprofessional organization founded in 2021 and publicly presented symbolically on the 1st of May that year. It´s Board and other social entities are all voluntary.
The ANPL has a deeply pro EU institutions approach. We have a strategic vision that following and monitoring the EU institutions and the legislative processes there originated is fundamental. As such, we are in coherence very proud of our recent membership as Observer Member in CEPLIS, the organization that brings together liberal professionals in the EU. We very much intend, not only to “observe”, but to actively and constructively participate to promote CEPLIS in Portugal and share our reality with our european colleagues, seeing this participation as a huge opportunity to increase digital, personal and communicational networks for liberal professionals.
We believe in the importance of collective intelligence by empowering civic society institutions, sharing values, governance approaches and good practices, namely in terms of innovation, efficiency, sustainability, quality and digitalization, achieving common interest and goals, thus contributing to enhance trust of the consumers and society in general.
As such, we are in coherence very proud of our recent membership as Observer Member in CEPLIS, the organization that brings together liberal professionals in the EU. We very much intend, not only to “observe”, but to actively and constructively participate to promote CEPLIS in Portugal and share our reality with our european colleagues, seeing this filiation as a huge opportunity to increase digital, personal and communicational networks for liberal professionals.
Orlando Monteiro da Silva
President of the Portuguese Association of Liberal Professionals
Associação Nacional dos Profissionais Liberais 