Brussels, 30/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - The “mobility of workers” package, which was due to be presented by the European Commission on 9 December, has been delayed until next year, the spokesperson for Commissioner Marianne Thyssen (Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility) confirmed on Monday 30 November. A lot of work has been done in consultation with stakeholders at all levels, he said, stating that the proposals will be presented as part of the Commission's 2016 work programme.
According to several sources, it was decided to change the timetable after the Paris attacks, it being felt that this was not the right time to seek to increase worker mobility in the EU. The Commission declined to comment on this claim.
The mobility package is one of the flagship initiatives announced by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to tackle social dumping and social tourism. It is structured around a communication on labour mobility, amendment of the posting of workers directive (rather than the targeted evaluation as initially envisaged) and review of the regulations on social security coordination. The package is expected to extend the period of time during which a citizen who leaves his/her country will continue to receive unemployment benefit from three to six months. It will also clarify the rules on cross-border commuters, establishing that unemployment benefit to which such workers are entitled is to be paid by the member state in which they worked for more than a year. The Commission is likely to include long-term health care within the scope of Regulation 883/2004 on the coordination of social security schemes. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)