Brussels, 18/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 19 April and Wednesday 20 April, EU Employment Ministers will be meeting up for an informal meeting. This will provide them with an opportunity to hold an initial discussion in what appears to be a difficult context, given the attempts being made by countries such as Poland to introduce a "yellow card" procedure regarding the European Commission proposal for a targeted revision of the 1996 directive on posted workers (see EUROPE 11507).
Several European sources agree on one point contained in this meeting's main challenge: it is expected to clearly identify the alliances between member states and see whether a minority blockage is going to arise on this proposal. One source asserted that "This is the moment to prepare for battle". A plenary session will focus on this issue on Tuesday, which will exclusively be attended by ministers. Another plenary session will follow on the more general theme of "labour mobility", attended by representatives from the European Parliament, the Council of the EU Employment Committee, the European Economic and Social Committee, social partners and the Eurofound agency.
Poland is at the head of a group of opponents to the proposal, with support from many countries in Eastern Europe. It is currently attempting to mobilise national parliaments in an effort to activate the "yellow card" procedure as part of the subsidiarity control mechanism and subsequently force the Commission to revise its proposal in this connection. At least a third of votes from national parliaments will be required by 8 May at the latest. So far, not many of them have mobilised but are intending to mobilise at the Amsterdam meeting.
This proposal for a targeted revision was already tackled at the Council working group and the least we can say is that it has provoked a lot of controversy. It currently appears likely that with regard to the succinct character of the proposal (essentially one article), no compromise will be possible, according to two sources speaking to EUROPE.
In the event that the "yellow card" is not being activated, this proposal will be adopted as it is or a minority will succeed in blocking it at the Council. No minority has for the time being been created. It is not certain that it will be possible either because some member states that oppose the legislative text do so for different reasons and the position of the United Kingdom is not set in stone and the current rules setting out the qualified majority at the Council, which are not favourable to the opponents, will be in force until 31 March 2017.
On Wednesday, ministers will meet up for a session on the social rights pillar (see EUROPE 11477). Three workshops have been organised in this connection focusing on access to the labour market, working conditions and social protection systems. The plenary session during the day will focus on the European platform for tackling undeclared work (see EUROPE 11435). (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)