Although the EU member states will be moving towards a general approach during the next Employment and Social Council (EPSCO), they did not succeed in agreeing on a number of points in the chapter on the social benefits and the regulation focusing on the coordination of social security systems (regulation 883/2004) during the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to the EU (COREPER) on Wednesday 13 June.
Several national delegations are concerned about the reduction to three months for the period in which responsibility for paying unemployment benefits is incumbent on the member state where workers' contributions are deducted.
For cross-border workers, it is currently the state in which the worker resides that is in charge of paying social allocations in the event of unemployment. There is even a compensation mechanism from the member state where the contributions are deducted and paid to the member state but, on average, this compensation only corresponds to a third of the social benefits paid by the member state of residency, explained one diplomatic source.
This is why the European Commission has suggested a change in the paradigm. It is proposing that it is the member state where the contributions are paid that resumes responsibility for social benefits after a 12 month period for being responsible for the social benefits. In addition to the social allocation, the member state where the contributions were made would be obliged to provide support to the unemployed by providing training and follow-up, etc.
This significant change, together with a sharp reduction in the period for making contributions, could have a significant impact on some member states, such as Luxembourg, where the number of cross-border workers is very high (almost 43%). One source explained that “applying this new provision would make the Luxembourg employment assistance services explode”.
Therefore, several delegations (Austria, Malta, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) would provide support to these new modalities on the condition that there is at least a transition period for implementing them. This could be seven years instead of the 24 months currently being mooted.
During the discussions at COREPER, the indexing of family allowances to where the workers are from was put on the table by several delegations such as Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland. These countries proposed the introduction of a re-examination clause in an attempt to leave the door open to this kind of indexing in future. The proposal that ministers discussed during a previous ‘EPSCO’ Council (see EUROPE 11922), is still being opposed by the majority of member states.
Directive on work life balance for parents and carers
As we previously indicated (see EUROPE 12039), the member states are moving towards greater flexibility in the European Commission's proposal on the directive on work life balance for parents and carers. COREPER has left two political points pending: the non-transferability period between the father and mother during parental leave and the definition of holiday pay. On the first point, the member states intend to reduce the non-transferability period from four to two months. This reduction, however, is not to the liking of certain delegations, which would like to reduce it even further to a month. On the pay question, member states removed the notion of remuneration on the basis of sick pay and allowances and replaced it with “adequate” remuneration. In this regard, certain member states would like to go even further and get rid of any reference to remuneration, according to several sources.
Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions
Another important dossier in the social arena involves the directive on transparent and predictable working conditions. In this regard, ministers will have to assess two issues: the definition of workers and the degree to which seafarers are excluded. On the first point, the member states are likely not to define the term “worker” and refer the issue back to the European Court of Justice’s case law or definitions in national regulations.
Employment Ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Thursday 21 June to adopt general approaches on these three legislative dossiers. The debates are expected to be public. They will draw up a balance sheet of the negotiations and the regulation setting up the European Employment Agency. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)