Tentative deal for posting of workers

Greece will ask member states to approve compromise with MEPs on Wednesday.

MEPs and member states have reached a deal on new rules for the posting of workers from one member state to another.

The compromise, reached last night (27 February), would give EU member states greater power to check that companies using workers posted from another EU member state are respecting core national social security rules.

Host states would be able to take all proportionate measures to verify that companies are respecting these rules provided they inform the Commission of the measures.

Greece, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of Ministers, will seek the approval of EU member states for the deal at a meeting on Wednesady (5 March).

EU member states’ joint position originally envisaged requiring host states to notify all such measures to the Commission, a process which would have given the Commission greater powers to block specific inspections. 

The joint position considerably expanded the original proposal by the European Commission, which provided a “closed list” of inspection measures that host countries can take.

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The Commission made its proposal in March 2012 to improve the enforcement of rules dating back to 1996, but the proposal was held up for over a year because of deep divisions between EU member states.

Member states, including the United Kingdom, Poland, Hungary and Ireland, defended the Commission’s proposal. Other member states, including France and Germany, wanted to allow EU member states greater flexibility to inspect companies using posted workers.

Both sides had a blocking minority. A compromise between the EU member states was reached only after Poland switched sides, after a discussion between François Hollande, France’s president, and Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister.