On Thursday 20 May, the European Parliament adopted by a large majority (516 votes in favour, 79 votes against, 99 abstentions) a report in which it asks the European Commission to present, as soon as possible, a proposal to introduce a digital European social security number.
Generally speaking, as rapporteur Radan Kanev (EPP, Bulgaria) emphasised in the plenary session on Monday 17 May, the European effort must particularly focus on implementing the existing rules by using the available tools (European Labour Authority, platform for tackling undeclared work, etc.). However, MEPs are also calling for legislation in light of the pandemic and the many social scandals it has exposed.
MEPs are therefore of the opinion that the institution should “immediately” present a digital European social security number. This number should complement national social security numbers and facilitate the electronic exchange of social security information. The objective is to quickly check a worker’s social security status and strengthen control. This is a long-standing request of the European Parliament (see EUROPE 12510/5). In this regard, MEPs have urged Member States to resume negotiations over the regulation to coordinate social security systems (see EUROPE 12669/24).
Interestingly, MEPs believe that the role of the European Labour Authority should be strengthened. They have suggested that a common scientific protocol is developed at EU level for free movement in the context of a health crisis. In this respect, they are calling for an in-depth reflection on the role of the Authority within two years of having reached full operational status.
With the explosion of remote working as a result of the pandemic, parliamentarians are also calling for a whole new set of guidelines on musculoskeletal disorders and mental well-being in the workplace.
Tension between the functioning of the internal market and social protection
The report has been subject to lengthy negotiations and amendments. As a result of the pandemic, we are told that the content of the text has been rebalanced between the need for free movement of workers and social protections, much to the dismay of the Internal Market Committee’s (IMCO) rapporteur, Morten Løkkegaard (Renew Europe, Denmark). During the debate, he noted with regret that the report dissociated the proper functioning of the internal market from the protection of workers.
Indeed, the report insists on abandoning the project for a European electronic service card as well as the revising the notification procedure for services.
To consult the report: https://bit.ly/3ym0aqX (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)