On Monday 26 May, the European Commission finally published its assessment of the mandate of the European Labour Authority (ELA), whose remit is to monitor the free movement of workers and alert the authorities to any abuses of labour law. The assessment had initially been awaited since August 2024.
While it plans to strengthen this agency in 2026, the Commission notes that between 2019 and 2023 - its first five years of existence - the Authority assisted the Member States in 168 cross-border labour inspections, checking the situation of more than 13,500 workers in high-risk sectors such as transport, construction and agriculture.
The evaluation also identifies areas for improvement, in particular the strengthening of skills in concerted and joint inspections, the management of situations involving third-country nationals within the EU, the capacity to process personal data and simplifying and facilitating access to mediation procedures.
With over 14 million European citizens working and living in a Member State other than their own, “ELA support for fair mobility and coordination of social security remains crucial”, says the Commission. At this stage, it is not taking a position on the need for a new mandate.
In its report, the EU institution notes that the ELA has created and strengthened synergies with a range of other European bodies such as the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems and other EU agencies. But new challenges have arisen, which the ELA founding regulation “can only partially resolve (for example, third-country nationals working within the EU)”, notes the Commission.
The evaluation also highlights the challenges associated with staffing, budget management and implementation of the European agency’s budget.
“Overall, ELA has contributed to advance the availability and accessibility of information on EU labour mobility rights and obligations”.
The Authority has also developed tools to improve cooperation between national authorities and directly between the ELA and the Member States (concerted and joint inspections (CJI), capacity building, mediation).
“One of ELA’s most effective activities was the facilitation of CJIs, which allowed for knowledge sharing and mutual learning on inspection practices between inspectors of different Member States”, notes the Commission.
However, as the ELA does not have a detailed position on the processing of personal data, national authorities may have been reluctant to share information, which has hampered the ability to proactively report suspected cases to Member States.
Furthermore, the ELA is subject to the limits of its mandate and “achieving maximum EU added value will take time”, adds the Commission. Among the potential areas for improvement that could lead to “a potential need to revise the mandate” of the authority, it cites “competences to handle personal data, a strengthened ability to request cooperation from Member States on CJIs, and in the area of information provision, the possibility to better address the situation of third-country nationals”.
Link to the assessment: https://aeur.eu/f/h1h (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)