The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) has voted to develop a code of common professional standards to define the role of the ‘European lawyer’ across all member states.

Peter Koves, president of the CCBE, told delegates his ‘vision of the European lawyer’ was not a single harmonised qualification that every practitioner in Europe must attain but ‘rather a common understanding of the role and standards expected of a member of the profession’.

However, the head of the UK delegation, Hugh Mercer QC, gave qualified support to the motion: ‘We are opposed to a Europe-wide common code, but can see areas where the profession is best co-ordinated – such as transparency of decision making before the EC institutions. It is crucial, however, that the protection of client confidentiality is not diluted.’

Opposing the motion, the German and Austrian delegations argued that ‘the notion of a "European lawyer" could be misunderstood’. The Luxembourg delegation added: ‘The strategy is focused too much on lawyer-to-lawyer and not enough on lawyer-to-client.’

The motion was carried, with 27 delegations in favour and three abstaining.