Meeting in Luxembourg on 29 June, the social affairs and employment ministers of the EU27 will examine certain concrete details of the agreement reached on 22 April between European Parliament and the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council on reforming the rules coordinating social security systems and, more specifically, the element that brought delegations previously opposed to the reform on board: the promise of more effective monitoring of job-search obligations, better data exchange and closer cooperation between Member States (see EUROPE 13863/23).
These countries, such as Belgium and the Netherlands, long opposed to the reform, finally decided to accept it. The reform had been under discussion since 2016, and its principle was that an unemployed person who had worked for a certain period (at least 22 weeks) in a neighbouring country could return, at the end of their employment, to their country of origin and/or residence and receive unemployment benefits paid by the former country of employment (for a maximum of 10 months).
They had received assurances from the Commission that the unemployment insurance services in the country of employment would be fully informed of the job search efforts by the authorities in the country of residence. The Commission had moreover announced initiatives to that effect as part of the upcoming package on fair labour mobility.
According to a public note dated 12 June, these delegations also emphasised the importance of strengthening administrative cooperation to better prevent and combat social dumping, fraud and abuses related to the posting of workers.
Furthermore, the Member States stressed that applying the social security coordination rules remains complex given the rapidly evolving labour market, particularly with the emergence of new forms of employment such as teleworking, which poses significant challenges in determining the applicable social security legislation. This creates risks for workers, such as the risk of double contributions and the loss of acquired rights.
The growing number of mobile workers employed in several Member States and/or frequently changing professional status presents an additional challenge.
In this note, the Cyprus Presidency recalls that the European Commission will announce measures to modernise, simplify and digitalise coordination rules and practices for coordinating labour mobility and social security, referred to as Regulation “883 2.0”, which will allow Member States to anticipate certain rules pending application of the reform agreed on 22 April.
The Commission indicated, for example, that this work will include proposals aimed at strengthening cooperation and data exchange between Member States, particularly with regard to control, activation and job placement measures, as well as proposals to achieve these objectives by improving digital tools, notably by building on the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (EESSI).
The ministers will thus be invited to answer two questions: how can cooperation and data exchange, particularly activation measures and controls, be strengthened as part of the upcoming ”Fair Labour Mobility Package” in order to promote the cross-border integration of jobseekers into the labour market? Moreover, which social security coordination rules should be modernised and simplified?
Anti-poverty strategy. On Monday 29 June, the ministers will also be invited to discuss the “Social Package” presented by the Commission on 6 May and to share their thoughts on housing policies and ways to “meet the needs of students and middle-income households”.
Regarding the 6 May package and the “Anti-Poverty Strategy” (see EUROPE 13863/10), the ministers will be “invited to exchange views on how the objectives of the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy can be translated into effective national reforms and investments, how governance arrangements and coordination mechanisms can be strengthened to improve policy delivery, and more specifically how to reach the most vulnerable and reduce non-take-up of social benefits and support”.
Links to the notes: https://aeur.eu/f/mco ; https://aeur.eu/f/mcq ; https://aeur.eu/f/mcp (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)