The European Commission said on Wednesday it had sued Portugal for breaching its rules on the freedom of movement of workers as well as non complying with its directive on the recognition of professional qualifications.
In a statement, it said Portugal had put in place "restrictive conditions going beyond the EU rules".
"As a result, numerous engineers who do not fulfill those new Portuguese conditions will see their rights to free movement be restricted," the Commission said.
"The principle of acquired rights is a fundamental principal of law and Portugal has not provided any justification for these new restrictions."
(Reporting by Marine Strauss and Benoit Van Overstraeten)
