EU Member States have apparently not been able to agree on whether or not to keep the road transport sector within the scope of the future European Labour Authority (or Agency, the debate remains open) in the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper). The issue will be decided at the next Employment and Social Policy Council (EPSCO) on 6 December.
Poland and Hungary are reportedly pressing to remove the transport sector from the Authority's scope of activity. These two Member States are known to be very committed to limiting controls in the transport sector, in order to avoid excessive administrative burdens and ensure the freedom to provide services (see EUROPE 12110). But in the opinion of one diplomatic source, their position should be outvoted at the December EPSCO Council.
Another question that remains to be decided is the very name of the entity. Will it be an Authority or rather a European Agency? The question would be difficult to determine, as no nomenclature seems to clearly define the typical tasks of an Authority and those of an EU European Agency. In July 2012, it is true, the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament adopted a joint declaration proposing to harmonise the names of the new European agencies into a “European Union Agency for...” (see EUROPE 12083).
Points of agreement
The national delegations would have agreed to assign three main tasks: - an information role for citizens and businesses on national legislation in force, in particular through the EURES portal, the European Job Mobility Portal; - a role in supporting cooperation between Member States (exchange of good practices) with the establishment of joint concerted and voluntary inspection activities; - finally, a mediation role on compliance with labour law, but not on the coordination of social security systems.
The exclusion of mediation on social security systems is explained by the fact that there is already a functioning mediation system for the coordination of social security systems ('the Conciliation Board of the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems’). However, several delegations would be concerned that standardizing mediation under the same entity could result in the loss of expertise and accumulated experience in a mechanism considered by some to be effective.
Future headquarters. The question of the seat of the future Authority has not yet been decided and will not be decided at the EPSCO Council. The selection procedure is under discussion. Latvia, Croatia, Slovakia, Cyprus and Romania are being considered as potential candidate countries.
The European Parliament adopted its position on the European Authority last week in a marathon vote (see EUROPE 12141). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)