According to several sources, an outline agreement is gradually taking shape on the proposed directive on quality traineeships, with a number of countries expressing their potential support at the end of last week at a new meeting of the Working Party on Social Questions.
Proposed in March, at the same time as a proposal for an EU Council recommendation, the directive aims to better identify bogus traineeships and regular employment relationships disguised as traineeships. However, it does not explicitly outlaw (real) unpaid traineeships.
Since July, Hungary has focused on refocusing the scope, with various types of traineeships excluded (see EUROPE 13508/14).
On 24 and 25 October, a number of countries continued to question the added value of the directive, with some wanting it to be more ambitious (five countries criticise the weakening of the proposals). However, according to one source, 14 countries are more or less satisfied with the latest Hungarian proposals, and four or five countries have not yet adopted a firm position, for example because of a political transition in their country. Others believe more work is required on the scope, wishing to narrow it further.
Furthermore, a large majority of Member States have reportedly welcomed the removal from the scope of traineeships linked to getting unemployed people back into work (active labour market policies).
However, some delegations questioned the alignment of the definition of the scope of the directive and the associated recommendation. Some believe that this recommendation, because of its non-binding nature, could be more ambitious.
Other grey areas remain, such as the inclusion in the directive of traineeships in regulated professions or trainee civil servants.
At this meeting of the working group, the Commission in any case “reiterated its profound disapproval of the Hungarian Presidency’s approach”, says a source. The Commission believes that this watered-down directive contradicts not only its proposal, but also the expectations expressed by the European Parliament in its 2023 report.
The Member States will discuss this at political level on 6 November in the Committee of Permanent Representatives. And a new meeting of the working group will be held on 18 November.
The European Parliament has appointed a new rapporteur for the directive, Alicia Homs Ginel (S&D, Spanish). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)