The EU agrees to reform social security rules for cross-border workers, following a decade of stalled negotiations and repeated impasses over key provisions.
Petra Pavlovičová
The EU has finally agreed to reform social security for cross-border workers — after a decade of failed negotiations and repeated deadlock over key provisions.
The Cyprus EU presidency brokered the deal during a meeting of EU ambassadors earlier in April in what is being framed as a victory for patient, institutional diplomacy.
After being approved by EU ambassadors in late April, the deal is now to be subjected to a vote on the European Parliament’s employment committee on Wednesday (6 May) – paving the way for a plenary vote in either June or July.
The compromise saw support growing from an initial 15 member states to a solid majority of 21, with the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland, and Denmark voting against the reform and Austria and Hungary abstaining.
“It is unacceptable for someone to pay taxes and social security contributions in one country for years, only to be referred to another country in the event of unemployment,” said German MEP Gabriele Bischoff, lead negotiator on this file.
“Lex loci laboris – the law of the place of work – is not only a matter of fairness; it is a logical consequence of the single market we all champion,” she added.
“The number of Europeans living and working across borders has increased significantly in recent years … That is why the stakes are so high. The EU’s responsibility to deliver is clear,” Bischoff said.
Around 14 million Europeans are believed to live, work, or spend their retirement in an EU country other than their home nation.
The social security reform covers key areas such as unemployment benefits, family-related benefits (like child allowances), and long-term care (such as support for elderly or disabled people).
The negotiation centred on three critical pillars: mandatory notification, unemployment benefits, and pluriactivity.
If confirmed, the so-called mandatory notification (sending a form to the authority of the country of employment) will concern everyone but people going for business trips and postings of shorter duration than three days.
This will however not apply in the construction sector where all postings will have to be notified.
For unemployment benefits, cross-border workers would be entitled to payments for up to six months from the member state of employment, provided they have contributed to that country’s national social security system for at least 22 weeks.
Finally, those whose with ‘pluriactivity’ (pursuing activity in two or more countries of the EU), will see that the relevant place of business is where key decisions are taken.
Finding majorities
Reaching a consensus on all these points proved challenging for over 10 years.
However, according to Bischoff, it is a “huge signal” that 21 member states now support this compromise, given their different positions.
“Bringing them together was a long process,” she told EUobserver.
