Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2018)131 - European Labour Authority - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2018)131 - European Labour Authority. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2018)131  |
| date | 13-03-2018 |
1. CONTEXTOFTHEPROPOSAL
• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
Strengthening fairness of the Internal Market has been one of the priorities of the mandate of the Juncker Commission1. On 17 November 2017, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission jointly proclaimed at the Social Summit in Gothenburg the European Pillar of Social Rights2. The Pillar sets out a number of key principles and rights to support fair and well-functioning labour markets and welfare systems. It is designed as a compass for a renewed process of convergence towards better working and living conditions across the Union, ensuring the citizens equal opportunities and access to the labour market, fair working conditions and social protection and inclusion. Ensuring fair labour mobility in Europe is central to this objective.
Cross-border labour mobility in the EU benefits individuals, economies and societies as a whole. From the EU's policies and priorities, the one that citizens support most is the free movement of EU citizens, encompassing the possibility for citizens to live, work, study and do business anywhere in the EU3. The free movement of workers and the freedom to provide services within the Union depend on clear, fair and effectively enforced rules on cross-border labour mobility and social security coordination. To this end, the EU has developed an extensive body of legislation regulating free movement of workers, posting of workers and social security coordination. The Juncker Commission has submitted several proposals to improve this regulatory framework4.
However, concerns remain regarding compliance with and effective and efficient enforcement of EU rules, which risks jeopardising trust and fairness in the Internal Market. In particular, concerns have been voiced in relation to mobile workers being vulnerable to abuse or being denied their rights, as well as businesses operating in an uncertain or unclear business environment and unequal playing field. Cross-border labour mobility has notably increased in recent years. In 2017, 17 million citizens lived or worked in a Member State other than that of their nationality. This figure almost doubled compared to a decade ago. Postings have increased by 68% from 2010 to 2.3 million in 2016.5 1.4 million EU citizens commute to go to work in another Member State6. There are also over 2 million workers in the road transport sector who cross intra-EU borders on a daily basis to transport goods or passengers. There is a need for effective cooperation between national authorities and for concerted administrative action to manage the increasingly European labour market.
The European Parliament has, on several occasions, underlined the need both to reinforce controls and coordination between and by Member States7, including through strengthening of
A New Start for Europe: My Agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness and Democratic Change, 10 Commission priorities for 2015-19:https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities_en.
An overview of the European Pillar of Social Rights is available here:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/deeper-and-fairer-economic-and-monetary-union/european-pillar-social-rights_en.
Standard Eurobarometer 88 - Public opinion in the European Union, December 2017. COM(2016) 128 final, COM(2016) 815 final, COM(2017) 278 final, COM(2017) 277 final and COM(2017) 281.
2016 Annual Report on Intra-EU Labour Mobility, second edition May 2017.
2017 Annual Report on Intra-EU Labour Mobility.
European Parliament resolution of 14 September 2016 on social dumping in the European Union (2015/2255(INI)).
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inspectorates8,
information exchanges between labour inspectorates , and to actively support the exercise of free movement rights . The Council has also stressed the need to improve administrative cooperation and develop assistance and information exchanges in the context of fighting fraud related to the posting of workers, while emphasising the importance of clear and transparent information for service providers and workers .
Against this backdrop, in his State of the Union address 201711, Pres ident Juncker proposed the establishment of a European Labour Authority to ensure that EU rules on labour mobility are enforced in a fair, simple, and effective way. This proposal aims at setting up such a
European Labour Authority - hereafter referred to as ‘the Authority’ - in the form of a
decentralised EU agency to address the following main challenges:
• Inadequate support and guidance for individuals and businesses in cross-border situations, including incomplete or sparse information available to the public concerning their rights and obligations;
• Insufficient access to and sharing of information between national authorities responsible for diff erent domains of labour mobility and social security coordination;
• Insufficient capacity of national authorities to organise cooperation with authorities across borders;
• Weak or absent mechanisms for joint cross-border enforcement activities;
• The lack of a dedicated cross-border mediation mechanism between Member States across all domains of labour mobility and social security coordination;
• Insufficient cooperation set-up at EU level in this area.
The overarching objective of the initiative is to contribute to ensuring fair labour mobility in the Internal Market. In this context, the proposal aims at:
• Improving access to information by individuals and employers about their rights and obligations in the areas of labour mobility and social security coordination as well as access to re levant services;
• Strengthening operational cooperation between authorities in the cross-border enforcement of relevant Union law, including facilitating joint inspections;
• Providing mediation and facilitating solutions in cases of disputes between national authorities and cross-border labour market disruptions, such as a restructuring of companies affect ing several Member States.
Concretely, the Authority will be entrusted with a number of operational tasks, namely to provide relevant information and services to individuals and employers, as well as support Member States in cooperation, information exchange, concerted and joint inspections, risk assessment, capacity building, mediation, and cooperation in the event of cross-border labour market disruptions. Existing EU structures and tools in the area of cross-border labour mobility and social security coordination will be integrated or complemented by an Authority providing Member States with unprecedented operational and technical support.
European Parliament resolution of 14 January 2014 on effective labour inspections as a strategy to improve
working conditions in Europe (2013/2112(INI)).
European Parliament resolution of 19 January 2017 on a European Pillar of Social Rights (2016/2095(INI)).
Council, General approach on the proposal for a Directive amending Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of
workers, 13612/17, 24 October 2017.
The 2017 State of the Union address is available at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/state-union-2017_en
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The Authority will benefit to all individuals who are subject to Union rules in the area of cross-border labour mobility and social security coordination, concretely workers, self-employed persons or other individuals who are Union citizens or third-country nationals legally resident in the Union and in a cross-border situation. This includes posted workers, EU Blue Card holders, intra-corporate transferees and long-term residents as long as they are subject to the above mentioned rules. It will also benefit companies engaged in cross-border activities, including for recruitment purposes.
• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area
The Authority will help to ensure that workers' and citizens' rights to equal treatment and access to employment opportunities and social security are guaranteed in cross-border situations. It will also provide transparency for businesses on local labour standards throughout the Internal Market. Finally, it will support cooperation between national authorities to ensure that workers' and citizens' social rights are respected and to prevent fraud and abuse.
The Commission has adopted a number of initiatives and proposals to promote fair labour mobility, in particular, the revisions of the Posting of Workers Directive12 and of the Regulations on the Coordination of Social Security Systems13 as well as the package 'Europe on the Move', including the lex specialis on the posting of workers in international road transport operations14 and the revision of social and market rules in road transport15. These recent initiatives follow in the path of previous legislative proposals, such as the Directives on enforcement of posting of workers16 and free movement of workers17, the Regulation on EURES (European network of employment services)18 and initiatives such as the set-up of a European Platform to tackle undeclared work19.
Within the context of the preparations of these proposals and discussions during their legislative procedure, the need for a strengthened framework for the application and enforcement of existing rules became evident. The proposal of a European Labour Authority aims at filling this gap.
Establishing the proposed Authority will allow to concentrate tasks some of which are currently dispersed over several committees and bodies and introduce operational support across the areas of labour mobility and social security coordination, thereby increasing the consistency of EU policy on issues of cross-border mobility (for details, see below the section ‘Regulatory fitness and simplification’).
COM(2016) 128 final.
COM(2016) 815 final.
COM(2017) 0278 final.
COM(2017) 277 final and COM(2017)281.
Directive 2014/67/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 15 May 2014 on the enforcement of Directive
96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services and amending
Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System
(‘the IMI Regulation’) (OJ L 159, 28.05.2014, p. 11).
Directive 2014/54/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 16 April 2014 on measures facilitating the
exercise of rights conferred on workers in the context of freedom of movement for workers (OJ L 128, 30.4.2014,
p.
8).
Regulation (EU) 589/2016 of the European Parliament and the Council of 13 April 2016 on a European network of
employment services (EURES), workers’ access to mobility services and the further integration of labour markets,
and amending Regulations (EU) No 492/2011 and (EU) No 1296/2013 (OJ L 107, 22.04.2016, p.
1).
Decision (EU) 2016/344 of the European Parliament and the Council of 9 March 2016 on establishing a European
Platform to enhance cooperation in tackling undeclared work (OJ L 65, 11.03.2016, p. 12).
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The proposed Authority will be complementary and ensure consistency with the activities of the four agencies in the area of employment and social policy: the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), the European Training Foundation (ETD), and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU OSHA).
The proposed Regulation will contribute to the implementation of the principles and rights defined in the European Pillar of Social Rights, notably by promoting awareness of opportunities for training and life-long learning for mobile citizens as well as active support to employment and, more generally, through the efficient and effective enforcement of Union law on labour mobility and social security coordination as well as of collective agreements implementing such Union law.
• Consistency with other Union policies
This initiative complements the ongoing work to achieve the goals set out in the Political Guidelines: A New Start for Europe20 in relation to Priority 4: a Deeper and Fairer Internal Market with a Strengthened Industrial Base, and in particular the Internal Market Strategy21. In practice, labour mobility is a valuable means of ensuring a more efficient allocation of resources between and within sectors, reducing unemployment and addressing skills mismatches. This initiative also complements Priority 1 of the Political Guidelines ('A New Boost for Jobs, Growth and Investment') by creating a more conducive regulatory environment to support a climate of entrepreneurship and job creation.
Furthermore, the Authority is consistent with the Digital Single Market strategic objective of modernising public administration, achieving cross-border interoperability and facilitating easy interaction with individuals. In this context, it complements the Commission's proposal for a single digital gateway22 by aiming to facilitate the provision of high quality content and services to the public through the gateway, based on the existing Your Europe Portal. This initiative will also build on the experience of the informal problem solving network SOLVIT23. In particular, the initiative will feed into and complement where relevant the information and services provided through the single digital gateway. It will also promote the access to SOLVIT by individuals and employers to solve their differences and build on the evidence gathered from that source to identify recurring problems in the areas under its scope.
Moreover, this initiative will draw on good practices in the field of cross-border cooperation identified by the Border Focal Point24 so as to help unlock the full economic potential of EU border regions.
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“A New Start for Europe: My Agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness and Democratic Change - Political Guidelines for the next European Commission” is available at: ec.europa.eu/priorities/publications
An overview about the key priorities of the single market is available at: ec.europa.eu/priorities/internal-market_en
Proposal COM(2017)256 for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing a single digital gateway to provide information, procedures, assistance and problem solving services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012.
Commission Recommendation 2013/461/EU of 17 September 2013 on the principles governing SOLVIT (OJ L 249, 19.9.2013, p. 10).
Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament, Boosting growth and cohesion in EU border regions, COM(2017)534.
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2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY
Legal basis
The proposal is based on Articles 46, 48, 53 i, 62 and 91 i TFEU, focusing on the free movement of workers, the coordination of social security systems, the take-up and pursuit of activities as self-employed persons, the freedom to provide services and common rules applicable to international transport.
Subsidiarity
The subsidiarity principle applies since the proposal does not fall under the exclusive competence of the EU. The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States at national, regional or local level and can be better achieved at Union level for the following reasons:
• Providing high quality and up-to-date information and services to the public about their rights and obligations in cross-border situations needs to be coordinated at Union level in order to ensure a consistent, clear, and eff ic ie nt a pproach.
• The application of Union law in the fields of cross border labour mobility and the coordination of social security systems relies on cooperation between Member States, meaning that no Member State can act alone.
• In order to increase synergies and support cooperation between Member States in the application of Union law across the fields of labour mobility and social security coordination, to ensure legal certainty for administrations and individuals alike and to arrive at a shared understanding of enforcement needs, it is also necessary to develop a coordinated and joint approach at Union level instead of relying on what can be a complex network of bilateral or multilateral agreements.
Proportionality
The initiative is a proportional response to the need for operational support and does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve this goal. It does not impose new obligations on Member States, individuals or employers; rather it focuses on supporting cross-border mobility and creating new opportunities. The proposal does not impinge on national deci s ion - m aki ng , legislation, or enforcement activities, which remain the competence of Member States. Moreover, it leaves to a large extent to the discretion of Member States how they make use of the possibilities put in place by the initiative.
The Impact Assessment Report accompanying the proposed Regulation25 outlines how the proposal achieves the best balance in meet ing the objectives laid out by the initiative, ensuring benefits (positive impacts) for national authorities, individuals and employers without significantly increasing costs. It also reports on the overall support of stakeholders consulted in the lead-up to this proposal.
• Choice of the instrument
The proposed instrument is a regulation on the establishment and functioning of a European Labour Authority. The regulation will build on the Common Approach on EU decentralised agencies endorsed in 2012 by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission26. A
SWD(2018)68.
Joint Statement of the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission on decentralised agencies: https://europa.eu/european-union/sites/europaeu/files/docs/body/joint_statement_and_common_approach_2012_en.pdf.
regulation provides the legal certainty required for setting up the Authority, which could not be achieved by means of other legal instruments.
3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER
Contents
- CONSULTATIONS
- 9 10
- Council, General approach on the proposal for a Directive amending Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of
- 12 13 14 15 16
- Directive 2014/67/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 15 May 2014 on the enforcement of Directive
- 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services and amending
- Directive 2014/54/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 16 April 2014 on measures facilitating the
- Regulation (EU) 589/2016 of the European Parliament and the Council of 13 April 2016 on a European network of
- Decision (EU) 2016/344 of the European Parliament and the Council of 9 March 2016 on establishing a European
- 25 26
- A dedicated monitoring framework described in the Impact Assessment Report accompanying the proposal will inform, on the basis of a number of indicators, on progress achieved in
ANDIMPACTASSESSMENTS
• Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation
The proposal for a European Labour Authority was developed in synergy with ongoing legislative proposals in the related areas of posting, social security coordination, and the setting-up of a single digital gateway. In this regard, the proposal builds on the evidence collected in the preparatory process associated with these proposals, including impact assessments, as well as discussions during the legislative procedure. An important point which emerged from these processes was the need for operational support, in terms of improved cross-border cooperation and increased transparency and awareness, in order to improve the application and enforcement of these rules in the field of labour mobility.
Similarly, the proposal has taken note of the ongoing evaluation of the above-mentioned four EU Agencies in the employment policy area. That evaluation consists of an individual assessment of each agency, a comparative perspective and a prospective assessment regarding the future functioning of the four agencies. The four agencies have quite different functions than the proposed Authority since they are predominantly research-centred and do not have a cross-border focus. Nonetheless, certain preliminary elements of the evaluation have contributed to this proposal, most notably with regard to the organisation of the Authority's tasks and governance. The Impact Assessment Report accompanying this proposal examines the possible interaction between the proposed Authority and the existing four agencies. The periodic evaluation of the Authority will allow exploring further synergies and streamlining opportunities with Agencies active in the area of employment and social policy.
In its Special Report on the Free Movement of Workers, the European Court of Auditors27 included recommendations to improve awareness about the tools of the Commission aimed to support persons who work abroad, to further enhance the EURES Portal, and to make better use of data in the design of initiatives and funding in this field. These aspects have fed into the preparation of the current proposal.
Stakeholder
consultations
In order to explore the views of stakeholders (including of citizens, national authorities, social partners and civil society) on the establishment of a European Labour Authority, the Commission organised an internet-based open public consultation on its main parameters from 27 November 2017 to 7 January 2018. The public consultation collected a total of 8,809 replies, out of which 8,420 were identical – stemming from a campaign initiated by the European Trade Union Confederation – and 389 were unique replies.
Overall, respondents to the public consultation expressed strong support for a new Authority, including when considering unique replies. The results largely supported the Commission's analysis of the main challenges. The vast majority of respondents (over seventy percent) were of the opinion that existing cooperation between national authorities is insufficient to ensure effective implementation of EU rules in the field of cross-border mobility. A similarly large
Special Report No 6/2018 “Free Movement of Workers – the fundamental freedom ensured but better targeting of EU funds would aid worker mobility” is available on the ECA website:
www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=44964">https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=44964
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proportion of respondents considered that insufficient access to information and transparency on cross-border mobility rules is a problem for individuals and businesses. The possible functions proposed for the new Authority also received broad support, in particular supporting systematic cooperation and information exchange between national authorities.
The Commission also conducted a series of targeted consultations of EU bodies in the field of labour mobility and social security coordination. A dedicated hearing with social partners at EU level was organised on 11 December 2017 and a strategic dialogue meeting with EU level civil society organisations was held on 15 December 2017. In addition to oral contributions during dedicated meetings, written position papers were submitted by organisations and representatives taking part in these targeted consultations.
Targeted consultations yielded varied results. Overall respondents welcomed the creation of a new Authority which would focus on improving cooperation between national authorities by facilitating the exchange of information and good practice. At the same time, respondents underlined that the new Authority should fully respect Treaty-based national competencies, should not impose additional reporting requirements on Member States, and should not complicate or duplicate existing administrative structures. Many of the stakeholders taking part in the targeted consultation believed that the mandate and objectives of the future Authority needed to be specified along with its link to existing structures and instruments.
The details of stakeholders' views can be found in Annex 2 of the Impact Assessment Report. The outcomes of these consultations, including discussions within the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems, the European Platform to enhance cooperation in tackling undeclared work, the Committee of Experts on Posting of Workers, the Technical Committee on the Free Movement of Workers, the European Network of Public Employment Services, and informal exchanges with Ministers during the lunch debate of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO) Council meeting of October 2017 were duly taken into account when preparing this proposal.
• Collection and use of expertise
In preparing this initiative and the Impact Assessment Report accompanying the proposed Regulation, the Commission made use of a wide range of secondary data published by the EU institutions (the European Parliament, the Commission and the Court of Auditors), dedicated Commission services (Your Europe Advice, SOLVIT), other international organisations (OECD), relevant academic research and studies by think-tanks. It also made use of its internal policy expertise and analytical capacities, including for the assessment of budgetary impacts.
The Commission also relied on primary data collected for the purpose of this initiative. It made use of existing Framework Contracts to gather evidence. This included an ad hoc request to the Network of legal experts on intra EU-mobility (FreSsco) on the capacities of labour inspectorates to deal with cross-border cases. It also included a request to a consulting service to develop case studies on the basis of qualitative interviews on resources for crossborder cooperation in the enforcement area.
• Impact assessment
In line with its policy on Better Regulation, the Commission carried out an Impact Assessment of potential policy and delivery options in preparation of this initiative. This work was supported by structured consultation within the Commission via an Inter-Service Steering Group.
The Impact Assessment was presented to and discussed with the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB)28. Recommendations made by the RSB in its negative opinion of 9 February 2018 were addressed by elaborating further on the scope and rationale of the initiative and on the views of stakeholders, and developing further the analysis regarding the options under assessment and the way in which the initiative can fit into the existing governance structure on labour mobility and social security coordination, while at the same time fostering synergies and simplification. To address the reservations raised by the Board in its (positive) opinion of 21 February 2018, the Impact Assessment Report has further clarified how the setting up of a new Authority would reorganise the landscape of existing committees and structures with the aim of reducing complexity and avoiding duplications, addressed the potential relation of the new Authority with existing Union Agencies in the field of employment, and strengthened the explanation of the budget estimates associated with the preferred option29.
Three policy options were considered for the proposed Authority, namely, i a support option, an operational option, and (3) a supervisory option. Each option proposed the same set of tasks for the Authority; however they varied in degree of powers attributed to it. The tasks proposed for the Authority are: (i) labour mobility services for individuals and businesses; (ii) cooperation and exchange of information between national authorities, (iii) support to joint inspections; (iv) labour market analyses and risk assessment; (v) support to capacity building; (vi) mediation between national authorities; (vii) facilitation of cooperation between relevant stakeholders in the event of cross-border labour market disruptions. Similarly, three delivery options were considered: i the Commission takes up some operational tasks and a European Network coordinating the existing EU labour mobility bodies is established; a new Authority is established building on the existing EU mobility bodies, (3) a new Authority is established building on an existing EU Agency in the area of employment and social policy.
As part of the Impact Assessment, the policy and delivery options were assessed against the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency and coherence. As a result of this analysis, a combination of the operational option (policy option 2) to be performed through a new Authority that builds on existing EU level mobility bodies (delivery option 2) turned out to be the most efficient and effective way to meet the objectives of this initiative. It allows ensuring positive impacts for national authorities, individuals and employers without significantly increasing costs while overcoming the lack of operational support within the existing EU cooperation framework, which were two important concerns raised by stakeholders.
Regulatory
fitness and simplification
The proposal to establish the Authority will enhance the EU institutional landscape in the area of cross-border mobility, in order to improve and simplify current forms of cooperation, and eventually to facilitate the work of Member States and the Commission.
Today, this institutional landscape includes several EU structures ('EU bodies') where national administrations cooperate and exchange best practices. These EU bodies include: the EURES European Coordination Office, the Technical Committee and the Advisory Committee on the Free Movement of Workers, the Committee of Experts on Posting of Workers, the European Platform tackling undeclared work, the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems and all its subcommittees (including the Technical Commission and
28 SEC(2018)144.
29 See Annex 1 of the Impact Assessment Report SWD(2018)68 for details on the consultation of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board.
the Audit Board created by legislation, and a Conciliation Board set up by the Administrative Commission itself), and the Advisory Committee for the Coordination of Social Security Systems.
The new Authority will pool technical and operational tasks of the above-mentioned EU bodies into a permanent structure with a view to achieving improved and more efficient output on the basis of a strengthened forum for cooperation and joint investigative activities. In this context, the Authority will:
– take over the management of the EURES European Coordination Office, currently
ensured by the Commission;
– replace the Technical Committee on the Free Movement of Workers;
– replace the Committee of Experts on Posting of Workers;
– replace the Technical Commission, the Audit Board, and the Conciliation Board of
the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems;
– replace the European Platform on tackling undeclared work.
In areas of social security coordination, the Authority will closely cooperate with the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems regarding the regulatory task for which that committee remains competent. In addition, the Authority will benefit from any input that social partners' and governments' representatives at national level provide within the Advisory Committee for the Coordination of Social Security Systems and the Advisory Committee on the Free Movement of Workers.
This new setup will simplify the institutional landscape and foster synergies across the various aspects of cross-border mobility within the Authority's scope. This will further support the consistent and effective application of Union law, improve efficiency, and deliver more and better quality results compared to the current institutional setup, where EU bodies largely operate in silos, focus on a specific legal act or area under their responsibility, lack an operation dimension, mostly meet only a couple of times a year and carry out certain overlapping activities.
The initiative also aims to streamline the way in which information and services are provided to the public about rights, obligations and opportunities related to cross-border labour mobility, thus simplifying access to such information and services for individuals and employers.
The proposal aims to further enhance the digitalisation of procedures and is complementary to the existing and planned initiatives in the field, such as the electronic data exchange between national authorities in the field of social security coordination under implementation by the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (EESSI) system, the Internal Market Information (IMI) system, as well as the Your Europe Portal and the single digital gateway proposed by the Commission.
• Fundamental rights
As the Authority should contribute to the clear, fair and effective enforcement of Union rules on cross-border labour mobility and social security coordination it will support the protection and fruition of the fundamental rights covered by such rules, such as the free movement of persons and workers (Articles 15 and 45 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
European Union, hereafter referred to as the Charter), the right of access to placement services (Article 29 of the Charter), and the freedom to provide services (Article 16 of the Charter). It would also support the exercise of rights across borders in the field of fair and just working conditions, social security and healthcare (Articles 31, 34 and 35 of the Charter) and non-discrimination (Article 21 of the Charter).
With regards to the protection of personal data (Article 8 of the Charter), the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 679/2016 (General Data Protection Regulation)30 and Regulation (EC) No 45/200131 apply to the proceeding of personal data under this proposal. In compliance with these rules, any processing of personal data will be limited to what is necessary and proportionate. Data will be collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes.
Along with the other initiatives proposed by the Commission under this mandate, this proposal also helps the Commission and the Member States implement the principles and rights defined in the European Pillar of Social Rights that support fair and well-functioning labour markets and welfare systems.
4. BUDGETARYIMPLICATIONS
Under the preferred combined option identified in the impact assessment, the EU budgetary total costs of the Authority are estimated to be 50.9 million per year at cruising speed expected to be reached by 2023. The costs under this Multiannual Financial Framework (2019-2020) will be met partially through redeployment from existing activities currently implemented under the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) and autonomous lines under Employment and Transport remit (70%), partially through the mobilisation of the margin of Heading 1a (30%). Existing activities shifted to the Authority will not be discontinued; their implementation will be shifted from the Commission to the Authority as soon as this becomes operational. As regards staff, the Authority would require 69 establishment plan posts, 60 seconded national experts and 15 contract agents. Details on the financial and staff needs can be found in the attached Legislative Financial Statements. There will be minimum requirements on national budgets through the impact of the proposal on the EU budget. It is not possible to exactly quantify the impacts on administrations, but case studies indicate that such impact will be positive as better rule enforcement will allow national enforcement bodies to capture previously unpaid social contributions and benefit from operational support from the Authority.
The proposal includes an evaluation clause to assess the mandate and tasks of the Authority every 5 years, providing for the possibility to progressively extend the scope of its activities and to scale-up the Authority.
5. OTHERELEMENTS
• Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
A dedicated monitoring framework described in the Impact Assessment Report accompanying the proposal will inform, on the basis of a number of indicators, on progress achieved in
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119 of 4.5.2016 p.
1).
Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p.
1).
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attaining the objectives of the Regulation. The requirements and timeline of the monitoring framework will be subject to further adjustment in the course of the legislative and implementing process.
The Commission will evaluate the Regulation five years after its entry into force in line with the requirements of the Financial Regulation32 and Better Regulation Guidelines33. The evaluation will particularly focus on the criteria set out in the Better Regulation Guidelines, i.e. effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, EU value added and relevance, in view of any review or update of the Regulation.
• Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal
Chapter I presents the main principles governing the establishment and functioning of the future Authority.
Article 1 sets out the subject matter and policy areas that fall under its scope.
Article 2 contains the main objectives of the Authority, with its point a) explaining the objectives towards the public including individuals and employers, point b) explaining the role towards Member States, and point c) referring to its role to mediate and facilitate the solution of cross-border disputes between national authorities or labour market disruptions.
Article 3 provides for the Authority’s legal status.
Article 4 will indicate the seat of the future Authority, once it has been decided by the Member States before the end of the legislative procedure leading to the adoption of this proposal.
Chapter II outlines the tasks of the future Authority, listed in Article 5, with each task described in more detail in dedicated Article(s).
Article 6 provides details about the way in which the Authority will improve the quality and access of information about the rights and obligations in the field of labour mobility offered to individuals and employers.
Article 7 sets out how the Authority will facilitate the access of individuals and employers to labour mobility initiatives and services, defining its specific tasks in this respect. It also sets out the Authority’s role in managing the EURES European Coordination Office.
Article 8 on cooperation and exchange of information between Member States provides for facilitating the cooperation and speeding up of exchanges between national authorities on cross border cases (described in paragraph 1), describes the function the Authority will play in supporting the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems set up by Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on financial matters related to the implementation of that Regulation (paragraph 2), and underlines the role of the Authority in promoting the use of electronic tools and digitalising procedures (paragraphs 3 and 4).
Articles 9 and 10 explain the way in which the Authority is to coordinate concerted and joint inspections across borders: Article 9 defines the details for establishing concerted and joint inspections, it explains that such actions will take place only with agreement of the Member States concerned, either on the request of the national authorities, or on the initiative of the Authority (paragraph 1), and requires for Member States which choose not to carry out a
32 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 1271/2013 of 30 September 2013 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 208 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No. 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 328 07.12.2013, p. 42).
33 Better Regulation Guidelines, SWD (2017) 350.
concerted or joint inspection to explain the reasons of their decision (paragraph 2), enabling Member States to carry out joint inspections also in cases where not all Member States concerned by the concerted or joint inspection decided to participate (paragraph 3). Article 10 sets out the practical arrangements for carrying out a concerted or joint inspection under the coordination of the Authority.
Article 11 outlines the analytical and risk assessment function of the Authority regarding cross-border aspects of labour mobility, setting out the details of the activities and context under which such work will be carried out.
Article 12 mandates the Authority to support Member States in strengthening their capacity, in order to promote consistent, fair and effective application and enforcement of relevant Union law, and defines specific activities for the Authority in order to fulfil this task.
Article 13 on mediation describes the task of the Authority in view of solving disputes between Member States.
Article 14 defined the role of the Authority in fostering cooperation in case of cross-border labour market disruptions.
Article 15 provides for the cooperation of the Authority with other decentralised Union agencies.
Article 16 ensures that all work of the Authority focusing on digitalisation of procedures used in the course of exchange of information between Member States will follow the principles of the relevant interoperability framework and reference architecture.
Chapter III describes the organisation of the Authority, defining the details of its structure.
Article 17 provides for the administrative and management structure of the Authority comprising a Management Board, an Executive Director and a Stakeholder Group. It also establishes the possibility for the Authority to create specific working groups and panels in order to tackle specific tasks.
Articles 18 to 22 set out the detailed rules for the functioning of the Management Board. This section provides for the composition, functions, rules regarding the Chairperson, meetings and voting rules of the Management Board.
Article 23 outlines the responsibilities of the Executive Director.
Article 24 provides for the creation of a Stakeholder Group attached to the Authority, in order to provide for a forum for consultation with stakeholders on topics related to the tasks of the Authority.
Chapter IV includes provisions on the establishment and structure of the budget of the Authority.
Chapter V defines the provisions governing the staffing of the Authority, including general rules on staff, the Executive Director, National Liaison Officers, and seconded national experts and other staff.
Chapter VI outlines general and final provisions, including privileges and immunities applicable to staff of the Authority, language arrangements, rules on transparency and communication, on combating fraud, ensuring security and protection of information as well as liability. It provides that the Commission will assess periodically the Authority’s performance. Provisions on administrative inquiries of the European Ombudsman, as well as cooperation with third countries are also contained in this chapter. The headquarters
agreements and operating conditions, as well as the commencement of the Authority’s activities are defined in this Chapter.
Article 46 provides for amendments to Regulation (EC) No 883/2004.
Article 47 provides for amendments to Regulation (EC) No 987/2009.
Article 48 provides for amendments to Regulation (EU) No 492/2011.
Article 49 provides for amendments to Regulation (EU) 2016/589.
Article 50 provides for the repeal of Decision 2009/17/EC and Decision (EU) 2016/344.
Article 51 deals with the entry into force of this Regulation.