European Union

The Council reached an agreement on its position (general approach) on the posting of workers directive. The new proposal revises certain elements of the original 1996 directive. 

The President of the Council, Jevgeni Ossinovski, Minister for Health and Labour of Estonia, stated:“I am happy that the Council agreed its position on such an important and sensitive issue. And I'm especially glad that after long negotiations, there was broad support for our compromise. The final text strikes a delicate balance. On one hand, it is essential to ensure that our workers are treated fairly. People who do the same job at the same place should also have the same working and wage conditions. On the other, we must not create unnecessary obstacles to the free movement of services - for example in the transport sector that is mobile by nature.“ 

The aim of the directive is to facilitate the provision of services across the EU whilst respecting fair competition as well as the rights of workers who are employed in one member state and sent by their employer to work temporarily in another (posted workers). The directive will ensure fair remuneration and a level playing field between posting and local companies in the host country. 

The new directive provides for:

• remuneration of posted workers in accordance with host member state law and practices
• long-term posting of 12 months that can be extended to 6 months (18 months in total) on the basis of a motivated notification by the service provider
• application of universally applicable collective agreements to posted workers across all sectors
• equal treatment of temporary agency workers and local workers
• as regards the transport sector, the provisions of the amending directive will apply from the date of entry into force of the forthcoming sector-specific legislation
• 3 years transposition period plus 1 more year before the application of the directive.

All rules on remuneration which apply to local workers will also have to apply to posted workers. Remuneration will not only include the minimum rates of pay, but also other elements such as bonuses or allowances. 

The Platform against undeclared work will be used to fight fraud and abuses and to improve the exchange of information and administrative cooperation between member states. 

Background 

The revision of the 1996 directive was needed in order to adapt the legislation to new economic and labour market conditions, and to codify the case law of the European Court of Justice. This will improve the clarity of EU legislation. 

The revised directive focuses on issues covered by the EU regulatory framework established by the original 1996 directive. The revised posting of workers directive and the enforcement directive therefore complement each other and are mutually reinforcing. 

Posting of workers involved 1.9 million European workers in 2014. Although it represents only 0.7% of total EU employment, the posting of workers supports the cross-border provision of services across the Internal Market, particularly in the construction and some personal and business services sectors. Under existing rules, posting companies need to comply with a core set of employment rights of the host country, including minimum rates of pay. 

What's next

With this agreement the Council can start negotiations with the European Parliament.

We would like to warmly congratulate you on winning this Sunday's general elections. Your reconfirmation as Prime Minister gives you a strong mandate to accelerate an ambitious reform agenda and will allow us to further deepen the close personal relationship that we have developed.

We look forward to continuing our successful cooperation with you and to take forward our common agenda for free and fair trade and a rules-based international order. Following the EU-Japan summit held in July this year, we are finalising the negotiations of the Strategic Partnership Agreement and the Economic Partnership Agreement and we trust that very soon we can reap the benefits of these agreements. We should aim to conclude the negotiations by December. As strategic partners we have a responsibility to enhance our bilateral security partnership, as well as to cooperate closely on the manifold shared challenges in our regions, and in particular on the Korean peninsula.

We look forward to meeting you soon and wish you and your government every success for the future. 

Today in Luxembourg, EU Employment and Social Policy ministers agreed unanimously on the text of the Proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and gave the authorisation to sign it on behalf of the member states at the Gothenburg Summit.   

The President of the Council, Jevgeni Ossinovski, Minister for Health and Labour of Estonia, said: “The ministers were unanimous in their support for the Social Pillar. We all recognise that in the face of globalisation, digitalisation and the changing nature of work, our social systems need to change but remain robust. The proclamation summarises what Europe believes in and what makes it unique: a continent of equality, fairness and support for the vulnerable.”   

The Pillar is a political commitment and provides guidance to the member states and the EU institutions; it aims at strengthening the social acquis and delivering more effective rights to citizens. It focuses on employment and social aspects and at making the European social model fit for the challenges of the 21st century. The objective of the Pillar is to contribute to social progress by supporting fair and well-functioning labour markets and welfare systems. 

It sets out 20 principles and rights, divided into three categories:

• equal opportunities and access to the labour market
• dynamic labour markets and fair working conditions
• public support /social protection and inclusion. 

The proclamation covers for instance policy domains such as housing, education, social and health care and employment. 

Next steps

The European Pillar of Social Rights will be proclaimed jointly by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. Since there is consensus between the three Institutions on the joint text, the proclamation will be signed by the three institutions during the Summit for fair jobs and growth in Gothenburg on 17 November.

Video of my recent talk, ‘Can Britain stop Brexit?’

Click here to view the embedded video.

The post Can Britain stop Brexit? appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

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Princess of Asturias Foundation convenes the Princess of Asturias Awards, which are presented at an academic ceremony held each year in Oviedo, capital of the Principality of Asturias. The Foundation’s aims are to contribute to extolling and promoting those scientific, cultural and humanistic values that form part of the universal heritage of humanity and to consolidate the existing links between the Principality of Asturias and the title traditionally held by the heirs to the Crown of Spain.

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Investigations into the technical incident of 18 October affecting the kitchens of the Europa building are continuing but are not yet complete.

In light of the above, the Secretary General has decided that the Europa building will not re-open next week, unless the cause of the issue is determined and all installations have been inspected, verified and put back into service.

Meetings due to take place in the Europa building, as well as staff with offices there, are being temporarily transferred to the Justus Lipsius building in order to ensure the continuity of Council business. 

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EU Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs meet on 23 October 2017 in Luxembourg to focus on employment and social policy issues. Among items to be discussed are: posting of workers, coordination of social security systems, European Pillar of social rights, European Semester

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A couple of months ago I wrote about the latest Flash Eurobarometer survey on perceptions of EU regional policy. One of the interesting results was the apparent increase in awareness of EU regional policy in the UK after the referendum.

 

Having now had a chance to access the raw data as part of a wider project I’m doing on EU regional policy and the EU referendum, I’ve been able to look a bit more closely at this. This allows us to get a longer-term picture of how awareness of EU regional policy has changed in the UK over the last seven years.

 

Here are the results to the question “Have you heard about any EU co-financed projects to improve the area where you live?” for the last four waves of the Flash Eurobarometer survey on perceptions of EU regional policy.

 

 

A couple of observations: Firstly, between June 2010 and June 2015 the level of awareness has remained relatively static (and low). There is a slight downward trend, but nothing conclusive. However between June 2015 and March 2017 there was a notable increase in awareness of EU funded projects. Secondly, this increase exceeds the margins of error, so we can be fairly confident it’s not a random blip. In other words the result of the latest survey seems to buck the trend.

 

Now, the conclusions and caveats of my earlier post still stand. While the timing of the EU referendum might offer one potential explanation for the sudden increase in regional policy awareness, we can’t say for certain it was the cause based on this survey. And despite the recent increase, the overall level of awareness is still low. But it does speak to the wider debate going on at the moment about communicating cohesion policy to citizens, and that incorporating it into national political discourses may hold one answer to raise awareness.

The post UK awareness of EU regional policy over time appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

The hundredth anniversary of the Russian Revolution will be celebrated at the end of October. After the removal of the czars from power and a civil war that claimed many victims the Bolsheviks took over the government of the country and in 1922 founded the Soviet Union. For almost 70 years the Stalinist one-party state ruled over its allies in Central and Eastern Europe. Commentators interpret the October Revolution from today's perspective.

The central government in Madrid is moving to suspend Catalonia's autonomy to prevent an illegal secession by the independence-seeking region. This could escalate the situation, commentators fear, doubting that the protagonists have the political skill to react appropriately.

A Polish man has set himself on fire in protest at the policies of the national-conservative government, sustaining serious injuries. Some commentators see him as a new symbol in the fight against the governing PiS party. For others the incident can be put down to media hype.