On Wednesday 14 May, the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU did not yet have a mandate to negotiate with the European Parliament on the proposal to reduce the administrative burden on businesses, particularly SMEs, and to simplify and improve cooperation between Member States within the single market by creating a voluntary electronic declaration tool for the posting of workers (see EUROPE 13636/31).
The text will now be submitted for approval to the Ministers for Competitiveness, who will be meeting in Brussels on Thursday 22 May.
A blocking minority had already been formed on 7 May by countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria and the Netherlands. And a blocking minority was also reached on Wednesday, made up of the same countries, which nonetheless indicated that they were remaining constructive and did not wish to block this proposal.
For some countries hosting a larger number of posted workers, it is important to have a simplified declaration that does not omit crucial data to combat fraud, while the countries of origin of posted workers want the simplest possible wording.
Although this electronic declaration is voluntary, some Member States believe that it will only make sense if all Member States implement it. Worker mobility involves hundreds of different types of legislation.
According to one source, the tone of the discussion on Wednesday showed a desire to reach agreement on this draft regulation at the Competitiveness Council on 22 May. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)