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EU Social Policies: European Commission becoming more active

EU Social Policies: European Commission becoming more active

Under the Juncker Commission, 27 proposals for legal acts on social policy have been tabled – including the Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions. The increasing EU overregulation in social policies represents not only a challenge to social dialogue and subsidiarity, but to industry at large. In a communication published on 16 April 2019, the European Commission recommends to move the competence of social policy-making even further away from the Member States to the EU.

Close to the end of the Parliament’s legislature, the European institutions have agreed on a number of social policy files: most importantly on the Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions (see our respective article), but also on the Directive on Work-Life Balance for parents and carers, and the establishment of a European Labour Authority.

Those files come however at the cost of employers who in many cases will face additional administrative burden. The trend of increasing legislative activity of the European Commission in social policies present a challenge to social dialogue and Member States as adherence to the subsidiarity principle, collective agreements and Member State competence on social policy making is clearly diminishing – facing harsh criticism from European business and employer groups.

Work-Life Balance and European Labour Authority

For example, co-legislators reached a provisional agreement on the Directive on Work-Life Balance which establishes new minimum rights for parents and carers concerning the length and quantity of their annual leave  (Art. 5, 6) and their rights for flexible working arrangements (Art. 9)

Also, the European Council and Parliament agreed on the final text for the establishment of a European Labour Authority (ELA) which shall facilitate cross-border services for employers and employees alike – something that has to be welcomed. Some employer groups however fear that the EU agency may inhibit or replace work of national employment services in the long-term.

Both files passed the European Parliament in April 2019 and will have to be transposed by Member States into national law after Council approval.

European Commission wants more power in social policy making

At the same time, the European Commission explores how to make EU decision-making on social policy more efficient. In a communication published on 16 April 2019, the Commission recommends to Parliament and Council to overcome unanimity of decisions in European Council, moving social policy-making competence further away from Member States to the EU – in particular concerning recommendations on social security and social protection of workers.

Currently, Member States have to agree unanimously in many cases in Council on social policy, which makes it difficult for the EU to overly interfere in national social policy making. A change to (qualified) majority voting would lead to an increasing competence of the EU in social policies, challenging the importance of social dialogue and national sovereignty in this area. CoESS will therefore follow related discussions closely.

 

Find here the provisional agreement on the European Labour Authority: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/commissions/empl/lcag/2019/02-20/EMPL_LA(2019)001640_EN.pdf

Find here the provisional agreement on the Directive on Work-Life Balance: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/commissions/empl/inag/2019/02-06/EMPL_AG(2019)636275_EN.pdf

Find here the European Commission Communication on “More efficient decision-making in social policy: Identification of areas for an enhanced move to qualified majority voting”: https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=21081&langId=en 

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