On Wednesday 3 April, the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) adopted by 28 votes to 7, with 8 abstentions, the report by Dennis Radtke (EPP, German) on the revision of the 2009 Directive on European Works Councils (see EUROPE 13381/8).
On the other hand, the committee was unable to vote on the mandate to enter into negotiations with the Council of the EU due to the lack of a sufficient number of MEPs present on Wednesday morning, which the German MEP criticised. A qualified majority is required to vote on mandates.
The rapporteur therefore called for another meeting to adopt the mandate and hope to confirm it at the final plenary session at the end of April, while the EMPL Committee held its last official meeting on Wednesday 3 April.
If there is no new meeting in the next few days, the dossier will be classified under the ‘unfinished business’ procedure and referred to the future European Parliament.
On the substance of the case, the elected representatives: - specified the definition of transnational issues to be submitted to EWC consultation (“In order to determine the transnational character of a matter, the scope of its possible effects on the workforce and the level of management and representation involved shall be taken into account. This includes matters which are of concern to workers in terms of the scope of their potential impact in two or more Member States, as well as matters which involve the transfer of activities between two or more Member States”); - strengthened the concept of the use of financial penalties; - introduced the possibility of excluding companies from entitlement to public benefits, aid or subsidies for a period of 3 years in the event of non-compliance with the legislation.
“To ensure effective enforcement of the directive, MEPs also believe that member states should make sure that adequate administrative and judicial procedures are available and easily accessible”, the European Parliament explains in a press release.
The draft report also includes the possibility of applying for a preliminary injunction “for the temporary suspension of central management decisions where these decisions are contested on the grounds that there has been a breach of the information and consultation requirements laid down in this Directive or in agreements concluded pursuant to it”.
However, the European Parliament has dropped the requirement to renegotiate company agreements that predate the 2009 directive. These will simply have to be adapted to meet the new requirements, commented the MEP in a press release.
BusinessEurope, the organisation representing European employers, regretted the vote and called for “a thorough debate at the #EPplenary taking into account the companies’ evidence”, it said on X.
The Member States will discuss the issue on 11 April.
Link to the adopted report: https://aeur.eu/f/blg (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)