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European Commission - Press release
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Posting of Workers: Commission discusses concerns of national
Parliaments
Brussels, 20
July 2016
Posting proposal does not
breach the subsidiarity principle
The College adopted today a Communication re-examining its proposal for
a revision of the Posting of Workers Directive in the context of the
subsidiarity control mechanism that several national parliaments triggered in
May. After careful consideration of their views, the Commission concludes that
the proposal for a revision of the Directive does not constitute a breach of
the subsidiarity principle.
The Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour
Mobility, Marianne Thyssen, said: "The
voices of national Parliaments have a strong political relevance for the
Commission and I am very grateful for their active involvement. We have
carefully analysed all arguments put forward by national Parliaments and
discussed their concerns with them. All things considered, we have concluded
that our proposal fully complies with the principle of subsidiarity and we will
therefore maintain it. Posting of workers is a cross-border issue by nature.
The Juncker Commission remains firmly committed to the free movement of people
on the basis of rules that are clear, fair for everybody and enforced on the
ground."
The reform of the Posting of Workers Directive translates a clear
commitment of this Commission to promote a deeper and fairer internal market,
set out in its Political
Guidelines. The revision introduces changes in three main
areas: remuneration of posted workers, rules on temporary agency workers, and
long-term posting. The proposal sets out that posted workers will generally
benefit from the same rules governing pay and working conditions as local
workers.
The Commission carefully
analysed the subsidiarity concerns voiced by the national Parliaments and
discussed all issues raised in an open political dialogue with them before
drawing its conclusions. The purpose of the review of the arguments raised was
to determine whether the objective of the proposed amending Directive can
indeed be better achieved at Union level. Today, the Commission reaffirms that
it is appropriate to define at EU level the rules applicable to the posting of
workers, as it has been the case since 1996. The proposal seeks to ensure that
workers carrying out work at the same location are protected by the same
mandatory rules, irrespective of whether they are local workers or posted
workers. The obligation for all Member States to apply the rules in all sectors
of the economy cannot be established at national level but must be laid down at
Union level. The proposal furthermore fully and explicitly respects the
competence of Member States to set wages in accordance with national practices.
While, according to the subsidiarity control mechanism, the Commission's
review of arguments was confined to the question of subsidiarity, it is also
sending individual replies to the national Parliaments addressing their
specific remarks and concerns which are not strictly related to subsidiarity.
These letters will be made public here over the coming days. Given
their political relevance, the Commission will continue its political dialogue
with the Parliaments on this file in the coming months throughout the
legislative process. The decision today should open the way for further
progress on the file in Council and in the European Parliament.
Background
On 8 March 2016, the Commission presented a proposal (COM(2016)
128 final) for a targeted revision of the Posting of Workers Directive (Directive
96/71/EC), defining a set of mandatory rules regarding the terms and conditions
of employment to be applied to posted workers. It provides that the principle
of equal treatment with local workers will also cover posted temporary agency
workers, thereby aligning the current legislation on temporary agency work.
In each Member State, due
to two-chamber systems in a number of countries, the Parliament has two votes
in the framework of the subsidiarity control mechanism. 14 chambers of national
Parliaments from 11 Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) sent
reasoned opinions claiming that the proposal was in breach of the principle of
subsidiarity. This triggered the subsidiarity control mechanism (the so-called
'yellow card' procedure). In addition, national parliaments from five Member
States (France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom) submitted opinions
that the Commission's proposal was indeed compatible with the principle of
subsidiarity.
In accordance with the
subsidiarity control mechanism, the Commission re-examined its proposal in
order to decide whether to withdraw, amend or maintain it. Before taking its
decision, the Commission engaged in political dialogue with national
Parliaments, through meetings of First Vice-President Timmermans and
Commissioner Thyssen with the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union
Affairs of Parliaments of the EU (COSAC).
The subsidiarity control
mechanism applies in areas which do not fall within the exclusive competence of
the Union. Parliaments have 8 weeks to issue a 'reasoned opinion' if they
consider that a draft legislative act does not comply with the principle of
subsidiarity. The threshold to trigger the 'yellow card' is one third of the
votes attributed to the national Parliaments, which obliges the Commission to
re-examine a proposal and decide whether to maintain, amend or withdraw the
proposal, and it must give reasons for its decision.
For more information
IP/16/466: Revision of the Posting
of Workers Directive – press release
MEMO/16/467: Revision of the Posting
of Workers Directive – frequently asked questions
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