By the end of the week, the Member States will submit further comments on the revision of the European Works Councils (EWC) Directive, after which the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council will decide whether to convene a new working group or refer the matter to Coreper.
On Monday 29 April, the Member States discussed the latest Presidency compromise on the subject (see EUROPE 13400/4) and no blocking minority was observed. But some delegations remain fairly critical, according to one source, notably Sweden, the Czech Republic, Greece and the Netherlands, which regret the text’s lack of ambition when it comes to gender equality and the equal representation of men and women on EWCs.
Sweden reportedly raised concerns about respect for its social model and the proper functioning of the works councils already operating in the country. Sweden is one of the EU countries with the most EWCs.
France also has persistent questions about the definition of the transnational dimension of matters brought to EWC consultation and would like more details, in particular on the new Article 11.3a on effective access to administrative and judicial proceedings for European Works Councils and special negotiating bodies, as well as on the reasonable costs of legal representation and participation in such proceedings borne by central management. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)