The EU27 Social Affairs and Labour Ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on 20 June, will take note of a progress report on the directive on a Quality Framework for Traineeships and the accompanying EU Council Recommendation (see EUROPE 13417/24).
Public, this progress report dated 31 May, which deals with the draft Recommendation, confirms the questions raised by the Member States on the scope and interaction between these two texts and on the concepts of fair remuneration for trainees.
The Belgian Presidency of the EU Council did not intend to obtain a general approach on these two texts presented in March, but certain delegations criticised it for not having proposed an initial compromise.
Under the Belgian Presidency, the Working Party on Social Questions met three times - on 9 April, 22-23 April and 28 May 2024 - and completed the first article-by-article examination of the proposal, according to the report.
“Most delegations welcomed the objective of the proposal (for a Recommendation), while stressing the need to ensure enough time for thorough examination, especially given its cross-cutting nature as well as its interconnections and overlaps with the Traineeships Directive. Several delegations continue to have scrutiny reservations.
Some delegations raised questions regarding the legal basis of the proposal, pointing to the limited competences of the EU in the field of education and training. Delegations also reiterated that the proposal should be compatible with national systems and legislation on traineeships”, adds the document.
The proposal for a Recommendation aims to extend the scope of the 2014 EU Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships, which only applies to open market traineeships and to traineeships as part of active labour market policies, to two additional types of traineeships: those that are part of curricula of formal education and training, and traineeships that are a mandatory requirement to access a certain profession, the document points out.
Several delegations pointed out that the scope of the proposal was unclear, questioning how it related to the 2018 EU Council Recommendation on Apprenticeships and whether all the measures recommended in the proposal could really apply to all types of traineeships. Some delegations also stressed that traineeships which are part of formal education should not be covered in the proposal.
With regard to the principle of fair pay enshrined in the Recommendation, “several delegations were cautious (...) and asked for clarification on what is to be understood as ‘fair’. The Commission explained that ‘fair pay’ was an important concept which has been strongly supported by the European Parliament and that it left room for interpretation”.
Several delegations also called for a greater degree of alignment with the ‘Traineeship Directive’ in terms of definitions and implementation deadlines.
Link to the document: https://aeur.eu/f/cja (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)