EU Member States agreed in the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States (Coreper II) on Wednesday 13 February to sign an interinstitutional declaration on the designation of the seat of the future European Labour Authority.
As a reminder, the co-legislators agreed to delete the article in order to allow agreement to be reached again under this mandate – it being expected that the decision between the Member States on the location of the Authority's headquarters will take some time (see EUROPE 12180).
However, this has the effect of removing the designation of the seat from the ordinary legislative procedure, which ultimately excludes the European Parliament. The latter, through its rapporteur, Jeroen Lenaers (EPP, Netherlands), requested minimum guarantees to be involved in the appointment process, which would be enshrined in a joint declaration between the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council.
With this final obstacle removed, the co-legislators will meet one last time on the morning of Thursday 14 February to discuss this legislative dossier.
In all likelihood, as a first step, the Authority will be hosted on the premises of the European Commission, pending a decision on the location of its seat. Three Member States have so far submitted their applications: Slovakia, Latvia and Cyprus. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)