The negotiating session between the Council of the EU and the European Parliament (trilogue) on the revision of the rules coordinating social security schemes (Regulation 883/2004), scheduled for 19 May, has been postponed, Agence Europe learned on Tuesday 13 May. No other date has been announced, although a meeting could now be held on 4 June.
The Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU has confirmed that it needs more time “to fine-tune the legal text. We remain in regular contact with the European Parliament to find the best solution”.
The European Parliament had agreed to negotiate with the Council of the EU after observing positive developments, as indicated by the German rapporteur, Gabriele Bischoff (S&D, German), on 7 May (see EUROPE 13635/33).
In recent days, the Commission has also reportedly sent proposals to a handful of Member States to speed up work towards an agreement. These proposals aimed to reassure countries that would be required to pay unemployment benefits for a certain period to people returning to their countries of origin. According to some sources, the aim was to reassure them about activation policies and provide guarantees that unemployed people receiving benefits from the country of employment in which they no longer live are actively seeking work.
For the European Parliament, it is also important to maintain a sectoral derogation for the construction industry for exemptions from prior notification for postings of less than three days. According to some sources, the Commission has also recently been active in this area, seeking to allow the reintroduction of this exception for the construction industry, considered a sector with a high risk of fraud. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)