Harmonisation of specialist training in Europe: is it a mirage?

For the past 18 years there has been a proliferation of European committees, boards, associations, colleges, and working groups set up to promote the harmonisation of specialist training in Europe. It has been taken as read that this objective is desirable. The fact that these bodies have achieved remarkably little is telling, and it is time to question their activity. There are good practical reasons behind the evolution of Europe's disparate training schemes, and the arguments for retaining diversity rather than continuing to strive for homogeneity are persuasive.