On Monday 9 March, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Latvia and Luxembourg once again raised the problems posed by the posting of workers from third countries, as they did in the spring of 2025.
Several of them spoke out, starting with the Netherlands, with Minister Hans Vijlbrief, who called for “more EU measures” to strengthen legal clarity on the posting of third-country nationals.
The data “show that action is needed at EU level”, added the Minister.
In a discussion note, these countries say they are looking forward to the ‘Fair Labour Mobility Package’, which will have to be “ambitious”, since “more action is needed at EU level to promote fair labour mobility within the EU and to foster fair competition”.
In particular, these countries are asking the European Commission “to strengthen legal clarity regarding the posting of third-country nationals. (...) Clarification of the legal framework is required to ensure effective enforcement by competent national authorities of the posting rules, facilitated by the European Labour Authority (ELA)”.
In particular, this should enable authorities to determine whether a posting is a genuine posting or a false posting. According to a recent ELA report, the posting of third-country nationals from one Member State to another by cross-border service providers is an increasingly common phenomenon across the whole EU. In principle, postings contribute positively to the realisation of the internal market, but the posting of third-country nationals can be misused in order to circumvent national labour immigration policies.
“Case law on the posting of third-country nationals is interpreted very differently across Member States, which hinders effective enforcement, undermines the protection of third-country nationals and does not contribute to a level playing field for companies”, these countries add.
“We are aware” of these issues, said European Commission Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu, underlining the vulnerability of these workers from third countries.
“We are collecting data with the ELA”, she explained. The revision of the ELA’s mandate will consist precisely in strengthening cooperation with third countries and extending its remit to “temporary workers and sanctions”.
At the final press conference, the European official also mentioned more labour inspections, particularly of foreign workers posted in critical sectors, “such as agriculture”.
Bilaterals on ‘social security’. The meeting of European ministers for Employment and Social Affairs provided an opportunity for bilateral talks on the revision of Regulation 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems. The French Minister of Labour, Jean-Pierre Farandou, met his counterparts from Luxembourg, Greece, Belgium and Malta.
The Cypriot Minister of Labour, Marinos Moushoutas, for his part, emphasised the efforts made by the Presidency to secure an agreement on this revision, which has been on the table for 10 years, and felt that it was “well on the way” to achieving this.
Link to the document: https://aeur.eu/f/l2v (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)