European Labour Authority: Council agrees its position
The Council today agreed its position (general approach) on the establishment of a European Labour Authority (ELA). The aim of this new body is to support Member States in implementing EU i legislation in the areas of cross-border labour mobility and social security coordination, including free movement of workers, posting of workers and highly mobile services. In agreeing its position, the Council proposes that the title ''European Labour Agency'' should be used in place of ''European Labour Authority''.
The ELA will help employees and employers to deal more easily with complex aspects of cross-border labour mobility. It will also help national administrations to better coordinate the application of the Union legislation.
Beate Hartinger-Klein, Federal Minister of Labour, Social Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection of Austria.
The tasks of the ELA, as set out in the Council's position, will be limited to the support of Member States in the implementation of existing relevant Union acts. Member States will participate in most of ELA's activities on a voluntary basis. These activities include:
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-facilitating access to information on rights and obligations in cases of cross-border mobility for employees, employers and national administrations;
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-supporting coordination between Member States in cross-border enforcement of relevant Union law, including facilitating concerted and joint inspections;
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-mediating between MS authorities in order to resolve cross-border disputes;
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-facilitating cooperation between relevant Union and national stakeholders in order to find solutions in the event of labour market disruptions;
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-supporting cooperation between Member States in tackling undeclared work.
ELA will bring together the technical and operational tasks of several existing EU bodies (EURES European Coordination Office, Technical Committee on the Free Movement of Workers, Committee of Experts on Posting of Workers i and the European Platform on Tackling Undeclared Work). These bodies will continue to exist after the entry into force of the regulation until ELA is fully operational. The aim is to establish a permanent structure and to achieve improved and more efficient results on the basis of a strengthened cooperation.
The seat of ELA will be decided by common agreement between the representatives of the Member States.
Next steps
The agreement reached by the Council will serve as the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament.