The European Parliament’s co-rapporteurs on the revision of the mandate of the European Labour Authority (ELA), Agnes Jongerius (S&D, Dutch) and Dennis Radtke (EPP, German), expressed their expectations on Tuesday 7 November in the European Parliament Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) regarding the evaluation of the functioning of this agency, created in 2019, which the European Commission will draw up by 1 August 2024.
The Commission could decide to use this opportunity to review the mandate. The two co-rapporteurs drafted a resolution to this effect, which they presented to their colleagues on 7 November.
Both the Dutch rapporteur and the Belgian EPP member Cindy Franssen, who was temporarily replacing Dennis Radtke, stressed the need to give the ELA greater powers to carry out inspections on compliance with labour law and the application of social security rules, and to establish a closer link with the regulation on the coordination of social security schemes (883/2004).
The ELA will also be given greater powers to deal with more vulnerable workers from third countries, such as foreign lorry drivers who sometimes go on strike to demand respect for their social rights in the EU.
The ELA should also involve the European, sectoral and national social partners to a greater extent, and also cover the area of legal migration.
With the Commission’s assessment due by 1 August 2024, the co-rapporteurs would like to put their draft resolution to the vote before the end of January, when the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU will be organising a major conference on the subject in Namur, said Ms Jongerius.
In 2021, around 10 million EU citizens of working age will be living in a Member State other than their own, and in 2022, 9.93 million third-country nationals will be employed in the EU labour market.
Link to the draft resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/9fc (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)