On Wednesday 20 March, the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU presented to the Member States' ambassadors to the EU (Coreper I) the main lines of the agreement reached with the European Parliament on the Regulation on the coordination of social security systems.
The agreement, which was reached at the last minute on Tuesday 19 March, includes, among other things, an export of unemployment benefits for 6 months or even up to 15 months for frontier workers, as well as a whole series of provisions to better regulate the posting of workers (see EUROPE 12217/5).
During the round table, a very large majority of Member States reportedly indicated that they were waiting for the transmission of the 'four-column document' - the document that compiles the initial positions of the various institutions and the final compromise between Parliament and the EU Council - before taking a position.
France, Portugal and Slovenia reportedly congratulated the Romanian Presidency for having succeeded in reaching an agreement.
Not surprisingly, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Luxembourg and Austria have expressed their very strong reservations about the contents of the agreement, particularly on unemployment benefits.
The Czech Republic, for its part, reportedly expressed some apprehension about the agreement reached on applicable legislation and frontier workers.
A final technical meeting between Parliament and the EU Council was held on Thursday 21 March. The Presidency is expected to send the document either tomorrow or no later than Monday, the national delegations hope.
They will be invited to take a position on the compromise on Wednesday 27 March in the Committee of Permanent Representatives. This is a real test for the Romanian Presidency, which has so far managed to finalise all the other legislative dossiers on the table in the social field. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)