In a working group on 28 February, experts from the Member States gave a mixed reception to the new compromise proposals put forward by the Polish presidency of the EU Council regarding the traineeships directive.
In particular, the compromise proposes extending the directive’s scope and stepping up the fight against bogus traineeships, with, for example, more criteria taken from the European Commission’s initial proposal to track down these bogus traineeships (see EUROPE 13584/20).
According to one source, the main area of disagreement remains its scope of application and the comments made by delegations could be divided into three main groups: delegations preferring the previous compromise text prepared by the Hungarian presidency; those welcoming the new text’s extended scope of application; those asking for flexibility in order to avoid administrative burdens and dissuasive measures.
According to another source, there are two main camps: those calling for an ambitious text (Spain, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Belgium and the Netherlands) and those wishing to limit the impact on existing national systems, such as Germany, Finland, France, Sweden, Estonia and Luxembourg. A number of delegations also expressed their support for the previous Hungarian compromise, including Germany, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovakia, Estonia and Luxembourg.
In particular, Germany is said to oppose the broader scope and the introduction of new evaluation criteria for traineeships.
The Polish proposals have maintained a restriction on traineeships on the open market but extended the scope of the fight against bogus traineeships to all types of internships. They have also added definitions of bogus internships and internships on the open market.
For some delegations, such as France, it is important to link the discussions on the broadened scope and the measures to control bogus traineeships, which would logically be more extensive and could create additional burdens, not only of an administrative nature.
The European Commission would have in any case welcomed a certain return to its initial proposals made in March 2024. In particular, it would have generally welcomed the fact that the new ideas on the table enhance the directive’s two objectives, namely improving traineeship conditions and combating bogus traineeships.
However, the discussion does not appear to have made any further progress towards a qualified majority, and it is difficult at this stage “to interpret the discussion“ in the working group, according to another source. In addition, many requests for legal clarification have been made. The working group’s next meeting is scheduled for 3 April. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)