Dedicated hearing – initiative on the European Labour Authority and the European Social Security Number
European social partners, including CEC, have been invited by the European Commission to a dedicated hearing to know their positions on the two initiatives. CEC highlights that the consultation of the European Social Partners is fundamental to assure that the new initiatives are transformed into relevant, practical and coherent policy instruments.
In his 2017 State of the European Union address, President Juncker stated that EU rules on labour mobility should be enforced in a fair, simple and effective way. In this context, the European Commission announced in its work-programme for 2018 the launch of two initiatives: the creation of a European Labour Authority, which would improve administrative cooperation among labour market authorities in Member States, as well as the setting of a European Social Security Number, to make it easier for mobile citizens to make their social security profile easily identifiable everywhere in Europe.
European social partners, including CEC, have been invited by the European Commission to a dedicated hearing to know their positions on the two initiatives. CEC highlights that the consultation of the European Social Partners is fundamental to assure that the new initiatives are transformed into relevant, practical and coherent policy instruments.
In the view of CEC, the ELA can prove effective in supporting the European Commission to make sure that the many advantages of intra-EU mobility are fully accessible to everyone, whereas the Social Security Number can become not only a tool for quicker, easier and more reliable information about the position and rights for each European mobile individual, but also a concrete symbol of a common European identity.
More in details, the ELA could serve as a “one-stop-shop” to really improve the free circulation of people within Europe, while at the same time improving administrative coordination among Member States’ authorities and carrying out inspective functions in cross-border situations. However, the Authority should be set up in such a way as to avoid any possible conflict with existing bodies in the field, and social partners should be fully integrated in the administration of its activities. As far as the ESSN is concerned, it is necessary that the implementation of this initiative is done in a realistic way, taking into account implications in terms of data protection and national competences in this field.
You may also find the full response to the consultation in pdf below.
