The Member States want to reach an agreement with the European Parliament on the directive on digital platform workers, but have little to offer it, particularly on the principle of legal presumption of salaried status.
With a new trilogue due to take place on 9 November, during which European Parliament negotiators would like to receive new proposals from the Council of the EU (see EUROPE 13280/21), this is the message that the representatives of the Member States sent on 27 October to the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, which was sounding them out on possible compromises.
While they have agreed, according to some sources, to allow the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council a little flexibility, many have reiterated their red lines and their desire not to deviate from the mandate adopted in June (see EUROPE 13199/1).
They thus maintained their wish to retain the structure of the presumption, consisting, for example, of ticking at least 3 out of 9 criteria to enable a worker to be reclassified as an employee.
The proposal by the Italian rapporteur, Elisabetta Gualmini (S&D), to be able to trigger this principle of legal presumption of salaried status on the basis of a single criterion being met, was therefore again largely rejected.
A number of countries also wanted the Spanish Presidency to maintain the exemptions provided for the application of the presumption principle in certain procedures (tax or criminal) and to maintain the discretionary power left to the competent authorities not to apply the presumption in certain circumstances.
According to other sources, some delegations also rejected any automatic consequence of the presumption allowing workers to be reclassified as employees, arguing in particular that this would create a European definition of worker.
According to some sources, the Member States have nevertheless given the Presidency some leeway to build on these reserves, but this remains “very limited”, according to other observers. The Member States are due to discuss the dossier again on 15 November. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)