The negotiations on the European SURE instrument for temporary support to reduce the risk of unemployment in emergency situations are progressing and this could be rapidly adopted by the Member States, confirmed the Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, at the end of the Employment and Social Policy Council on Tuesday 5 May.
"As far as I am informed, the technical meeting on the guarantee has progressed and I also believe that for the next Coreper meeting [Member States' ambassadors to the EU] the prospects are good enough for the negotiations to be concluded or close to a positive conclusion", the Commissioner replied to EUROPE. It hopes to be able to start quickly both the process of committing guarantees and the process of activation of the instrument by certain Member States.
The timetable is tight: the aim is for the instrument to be operational on 1 June.
On Monday 4 May, a technical meeting between the Council and the Commission discussed the guarantee to be given by each Member State to the SURE instrument.
According to a new provisional version of the Regulation, consulted by EUROPE, the process for using these national safeguards has been clarified. Before making use of it, the Commission will, at its sole discretion and under its sole responsibility as the institution responsible for implementing the EU budget (Article 317 TFEU), examine the possibility of drawing on the margin available under the EU own resources ceiling for payment appropriations to the extent that "it considers it sustainable", taking into account the total liabilities of the Union and the sustainability of the Union budget.
This examination does not affect the irrevocable, unconditional and on-demand nature of the guarantees provided, specifies the draft Regulation (in Article 11(3)(a)). When the guarantees are called in, the Commission shall inform the Member States of the extent to which the margin has been used.
On the afternoon of Wednesday 6 May, a further meeting of the working group should be held to finalize the final details of the text. The latter could be submitted to the Member States' Ambassadors to the European Union at the meeting of the Permanent Representatives Committee on Wednesday 13 May.
During the ministers' interventions, most welcomed the instrument, although some (very few and from the Nordic countries, we were told) mentioned the need for it to remain temporary and not set a precedent for a permanent instrument. Other ministers, on the contrary, have clearly mentioned the creation of such an instrument. The European Commission is still working on a permanent unemployment reinsurance scheme, expected either by the end of this year or next year (see EUROPE 12471/26).
Coordination of social security systems
Mr Schmit, still responding to EUROPE, confirmed that during his speech to the Member States he had insisted on the need to resume negotiations as soon as possible on the regulation on the coordination of social security systems, which have been at a standstill since December 2019 (see EUROPE 12387/18).
"It would also be important for the Council to meet and find a common position again, otherwise it will be difficult to negotiate with Parliament", he added. The Croatian Minister of Labour and Pension System, Josip Aladrović, for his part, soberly indicated that "the file is still not ready for reactivation".
As such, during the meeting, which was held by videoconference, Ministers stressed the importance of taking into account cross-border and seasonal workers, who are experiencing great difficulties.
On the issue of frontier workers, last Thursday the Commission sent a letter to all the Member States to take stock of national policies on worker mobility.
A way out of the pandemic with a strong social dimension
In their interventions, Member States' ministers stressed the social dimension of post-pandemic European action to ensure an adequate income for the unemployed and to implement the priorities of the European Social Rights Floor and the 'Youth Guarantee' to protect young people. The latter are likely to be strongly affected by the negative economic consequences of the pandemic.
Several ministers insisted on the need to focus European action on competences. Many mentioned the importance of maintaining the green dimension as part of the recovery. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)