As anticipated (see EUROPE 13619/24), on 11 April the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU succeeded in obtaining a qualified majority on a revised mandate to continue work with the European Parliament on revising the rules for coordinating social security schemes (Regulation 883/2004).
But by choosing to propose only a bracket of between 18 and 22 weeks for the minimum period of affiliation of a mobile worker in the State of activity responsible for unemployment benefits, it has left the issue open to potential new complications.
A number of sources have indicated that this issue, which has not yet been resolved, has the potential to derail a majority in the EU Council once again, when the duration is clarified as work progresses, particularly with the European Parliament.
The original intention of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU was to resume trilogues with the European Parliament, but at the time of going to press, the European Parliament had yet to examine the outcome of the discussions of the EU27 before taking a decision. A date has at any rate already been set informally around 20 May for an initial trilogue.
For some delegations, however, obtaining a qualified majority remains good news, the important thing now being to be able to relaunch discussions with the European Parliament.
On 11 April, around ten Member States indicated that they were unable to approve the Polish tracks. Among these countries, Malta, Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg had planned to oppose, while France, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic and Germany were in support.
But this was conditional for certain countries, which are still divided between those in favour of the shortest possible affiliation period (no more than 18 weeks), often in the eastern part of the EU, and those who do not wish to go below 22 weeks. Germany, which has long defended a red line of 25 weeks, would have made its continued support conditional on a final duration of 22 weeks.
The majority obtained by the Presidency therefore seems rather fragile, and having only a range for the duration of affiliation could become “a trap”, according to one source.
The European Parliament for its part, has reiterated its expectations and red lines in recent days. It is opposed to the construction sector no longer being subject to posting notification obligations for assignments of less than 3 days. It also rejects a single export period of 6 months for unemployment benefits.
Link to the document: https://aeur.eu/f/gec (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)