Meeting in Brussels on Monday 9 March for an EU Council dedicated to Employment and Social Affairs and devoted, among other things, to the fight against poverty and the role of artificial intelligence in the workplace (see EUROPE 13819/22), the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU and the ministers of the EU27 are also expected to take advantage of the opportunity to try to make progress on the revision of Regulation 883/2004.
The Cyprus Presidency still intends to organise a trilogue with the European Parliament, which should be conclusive if possible, around 22 April. It has scheduled a number of events for this purpose, starting with bilateral meetings on 9 March, but also a series of meetings with ministers and the European Parliament on 10 March, alongside the Strasbourg plenary session. Also on 10 March, the French Minister for Employment, Jean-Pierre Farandou, invited the Cyprus Presidency and other parties involved in the issue to try to move negotiations towards an agreement.
In mid-February, the Presidency formally relaunched the work with a working paper translating into legal text the mandate informally approved by the Member States under the Polish Presidency (see EUROPE 13812/13).
On this basis, the Presidency carried out various consultations with the Member States and then with the European Parliament. With this, the Presidency was able to note that the question of the obligation of prior authorisation for postings of less than three days in the construction sector remained a red line. And it seems difficult for the EU Council to force the issue.
As for the Council of the EU, the Presidency, on the basis of the Polish mandate, will still have to settle the question of the length of the period of affiliation of a mobile worker to the social insurance system of the country of activity, beyond which the latter becomes responsible for paying unemployment benefits.
Poland had proposed a range of between 18 and 22 weeks. According to our information, the final compromise could be for 22 weeks, although this would still be too short a period for countries such as Greece, which would still like 25 weeks.
In any case, the Cyprus Presidency is due to convene a technical meeting at the end of March to take stock of the progress made and close the remaining open issues, such as the duration of affiliation.
There are still a few questions surrounding the pluriactivity section and the list of indicative criteria for defining the location of a company’s registered office; some countries would like these criteria, currently in the recitals, to be included in the body of the regulation. The European Parliament would also like to see these criteria incorporated more explicitly into the text.
Parliament would additionally like to see more explicit references to seasonal workers.
The ‘affinity’ Member States, who had pushed for an agreement with the European Parliament under the Polish Presidency, were in any case due to meet with the Cyprus Presidency and the Commission on the afternoon of Thursday 5 March. According to sources, they have recently been joined by Ireland and Latvia.
The day before, the Netherlands had called countries currently opposed to the revision to the table, including Luxembourg.
The Cyprus Presidency is optimistic at present, believing that, more than ever, the two co-legislators are aware that this is the last chance to revise the regulation, which has been on the table for ten years.
If successful, the Commission could then propose guidelines to facilitate exchanges between public employment services and national administrations in anticipation of the new regulation, applicable two years after its adoption. This is what some have called ‘Regulation 883/2004 version 2.0’, but it would not be a legislative initiative.
Housing. While the European Parliament will be voting next week on the report from the Special Committee on Housing, the ministerial lunch will be devoted to housing policy, on the theme of ‘Building futures: housing solutions in a changing demographic landscape across Europe’. They will examine the impact of demographic changes, such as the reduction in household size, the postponement of family formation, the ageing of the population and imbalances between urban and rural areas, on access, affordability and suitability of housing.
The debate will focus on combating homelessness, particularly for young people, promoting better use of existing housing stock and ensuring that policies respond effectively to current and future needs. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)