The Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU will continue work over the next six months on the Digital Platform Workers Directive, with a possible political agreement (‘general approach’) at the Employment and Social Affairs Council in March, and will also be expected to work on social dialogue, steered by a Commission recommendation on improving social dialogue in the EU, expected on 25 January.
While Stockholm is also expected to start negotiations with the European Parliament on the revision of the directive on occupational exposure to asbestos, its provisional timetable does not yet mention a possible general approach with the European Parliament on this issue.
Surprise: the Swedish Presidency also intends, according to its official programme, to relaunch work on the revision of the rules for the coordination of social security schemes, although its work programme does not mention a possible mandate from the EU Council (the last time the EU Council failed to reach agreement on this dossier was under the Slovenian Presidency at the end of 2021).
“It is essential that social security coordination rules are modernised and reflect the social and economic reality of the Member States. The Presidency will therefore continue to work on the revision of the social security coordination regulations”, it writes in its official document.
Sweden will also address the issue of independent living for older people and population ageing through the forthcoming report of the High Level Group on the future of social protection and the welfare state in the EU. Equality, disability and children’s rights will also be important priorities of the Presidency.
What is the attitude to the Platform Workers Directive?
Stockholm supported the latest Czech draft compromise on the directive on the conditions of workers on digital platforms, which however failed to obtain a qualified majority on 8 December (see EUROPE 13080/16).
Sweden, which did not really want this instrument, was able to come round to the text thanks to the guarantees given on the respect of the role of the social partners and on the fact that the directive would not modify the existing system in the country. Sweden has indeed expressed concern in recent months about a definition of the general presumption of employment that would undermine the Swedish model.
Sweden had argued for the exclusion of tax and social security authorities in particular from the scope of the presumption, which it more or less achieved in the latest compromise text.
However, national delegations had expressed concern about this type of derogation ahead of the Employment Council on 8 December, and some parliamentary sources also questioned the Swedish Presidency’s ambition on this issue at the end of the year, hoping that it would be dealt with more under the Spanish Presidency. Spain is one of the so-called ‘progressive’ countries, i.e. those countries that want to return to the level of ambition of the Commission’s proposal, which is considered to protect European workers.
Is progress possible?
In general, some actors question the progress that Sweden can make in the social and labour field, precisely because of the very autonomous Swedish model, which has obtained, for example, in 2022, together with other countries, adjustments so as not to be entirely affected by the directive on adequate minimum wages.
Link to the programme: https://aeur.eu/f/4sv
Link to the calendar: https://aeur.eu/f/4sw (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)