On Tuesday 3 December, the members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs approved the negotiating mandate given to the German rapporteur, Dennis Radtke (EPP), on European Works Councils (EWCs) by 36 votes to 11 with 3 abstentions.
The MEPs adopted the German’s report on 3 April, but decided to postpone confirmation of the negotiating mandate (see EUROPE 13383/13).
The proposal for a directive on European Works Councils, which revises a previous tool from 2009, as amended by the European Parliament, must provide for quality and timely information and the meaningful consultation of EWCs on all transnational issues, before company decisions are taken. It provides for a rapid response to violations of EWC rights through the possibility of an injunction (the temporary suspension of the management plan until the EWC has been properly informed and consulted) as well as genuinely dissuasive sanctions and better access to justice for EWCs in each Member State.
The MEPs also specified the definition of transnational issues that must be submitted to EWC consultation and 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.
The Member States adopted their mandate at the beginning of June (see EUROPE 13424/13).
According to one source, no first trilogue on the EWC dossier is foreseen under the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)