The Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, whose six-month term began on 1 January, will make every effort to bring in the inter-institutional negotiations on the posted workers directive, according to its programme, which EUROPE consulted on Friday 5 January. It will also seek an agreement on the European act on accessibility for persons with a disability.
In its programme for the Employment and Social Policy Council (EPSCO), the Bulgarian Presidency states that above all, it intends to conclude negotiations on the posted workers directive. Inter-institutional negotiations on this directive began under the Estonian Presidency (see EUROPE 11927, 11920) following a general orientation hammered out between member states at the end of October (see EUROPE 11890, 11889).
A number of European observers felt that an agreement might be possible under the Estonian Presidency, but there are still a number of obstacles to overcome, such as the maximum period of a long-term posting – 12 months with the option to extend by six months following notification giving reasons, under the Council’s proposal, compared to 24 months for the European Parliament – and the question of extending the legal basis to Article 153, which was put forward by the Parliament.
The Bulgarian Presidency will also seek an inter-institutional agreement on the ‘accessibility’ directive for persons with a disability, on which an agreement was reached in December at the Council under the Estonian Presidency. The Commission, which fired off a somewhat bitter press release, felt that this was an unambitious agreement (see EUROPE 11921). The member states agreed to exclude micro-companies and emergency services from the scope of application of the directive, with which the Parliament agreed, also excluding micro-companies, but extending its scope to the built environment in which a service is provided (see EUROPE 11862).
The Presidency also plans to make progress on the regulation coordinating social security regimes. This ultra-technical dossier is making slow progress: two partial agreements have been reached at the Council (see EUROPE 11922) and the Parliament is only just beginning the legislative work on the text authored by Guillaume Balas (S&D, France) (see EUROPE 11909).
Other dossiers in the pipeline. The Presidency is also hoping for results on the directive of the Parliament and of the Council concerning the work-life balance of parents and carers, which was presented by the Commission in late April 2017 (see EUROPE 11775). The Parliament has appointed its rapporteurs, David Casa (EPP, Malta) and Agnieszka Kozłowska-Rajewicz (EPP, Poland) EUROPE 11902 11902). For its part, the Council has started talks, discussing the question of subsidiarity (see EUROPE 11866, 11856).
The Bulgarian Presidency is also aiming for progress on the development of the social economy, social entrepreneurship and gender equality, particularly in the digital sector. Similarly, on the protection of workers from carcinogenic and mutagenic substances at work, the Presidency is hoping for progress on the second revision. At the European Parliament, Claude Rolin (EPP, Belgium) is hoping in particular to introduce the principle of a permanent revision and add diesel fumes to the list of substances (see EUROPE 11908).
Conference on the future of work. The Bulgarian Presidency will also host an international high-level conference on the future of work on the 21 March. On the back of this conference, it will put conclusions to the Council concerning demographic challenges and the future of work, the development of knowledge and practical skills from a young age – the Bulgarian Presidency states in its programme that it hopes to encourage the implementation of the concept of development from infancy – but also the development of new skills. The conference will also look at new forms of the organisation of work and job security.
The meetings of the EPSCO Council will be held in Luxembourg on 15 March and 21 June. An informal meeting on social matters will be held in Bulgaria on 17 and 18 April. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)