REPORT on the transitional arrangements restricting the free movement of workers on EU labour markets
22.3.2006 - (2006/2036(INI))
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
Rapporteur: Csaba Őry
MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION
on the transitional arrangements restricting the free movement of workers on EU labour markets
The European Parliament,
– having regard to Article 2, first indent, of the EU Treaty,
– having regard to Article 3(1)(c) and Articles 12 and 39 of the EC Treaty,
– having regard to the Accession Treaty signed on 16 April 2003 between the EU-15 Member States and the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia, and the Slovak Republic (the Accession Treaty)[1],
– having regard to the Commission communication of 8 February 2006 entitled 'Report on the functioning of the transitional arrangements set out in the 2003 Accession Treaty (period 1 May 2004 - 30 April 2006) (COM(2006)0048)',
– having regard to the resolution adopted by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Executive Committee at its meeting of 5 and 6 December 2005, entitled 'Towards free movement of workers in an enlarged European Union',
– having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,
– having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A6‑0069/2006),
A. whereas free movement of workers is one of the four fundamental freedoms provided for in the EC Treaty, as well as an expression of solidarity between the EU-15 and the new Member States; whereas, furthermore, the free movement of persons is a right and should not be used to promote mass movements of persons and workers,
B. whereas the Accession Treaty makes provision for the possibility of introducing transitional arrangements for the free movement of workers in three stages (2 + 3 + 2 years),
C. whereas twelve of the EU-15 decided in May 2004 on some restriction of the freedom of movement of workers from eight of the new Member States, and in response, three of the new Member States likewise restricted freedom of movement; whereas Germany and Austria have taken up the option to restrict freedom to provide services in certain sectors and tied this to the transitional arrangements for freedom of movement of workers,
D. whereas a ‘status quo clause’ stipulates that if an EU-15 Member State regulates access to its labour market under national law during the transitional period, nationals of the new Member States must not be subject to greater restrictions than those imposed on the date of signing of the Accession Treaty; whereas this rule applies to access granted under national provisions or bilateral agreements,
E. whereas the status quo clause also requires the EU-15 to observe a preference rule[2] whereby, when a job is offered to citizens of countries other than the EU-15, nationals of the new Member States have priority over third-country nationals,
F. whereas there are ineluctable global challenges that the EU has to face, including the growing might of economic players such as China and South-East Asia, and population ageing in Europe, which could eventually cause the financing of social security systems to collapse; whereas it is therefore vital for the EU to improve its competitiveness and create more jobs, and, to that end, increase mobility within its enlarged territory,
G. whereas the Lisbon growth and employment strategy (2005-2008) points precisely to the need to implement policies to encourage occupational and geographical mobility, and whereas Guideline No 20 of the employment guidelines (2005-2008)[3] calls for the obstacles to worker mobility in the EU as a whole to be removed under the Treaties in order to make labour market more adaptable[4],
H. whereas 2006 has been declared European Year of Workers’ Mobility,
I. whereas Council Directive 2003/109/EC concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents[5], lays down a legal framework for enabling a long-term legal resident in a Member State to obtain long-term residence status, which may, in certain circumstances, also permit that long-term resident to be employed in another Member State,
J. whereas Directive 2003/109/EC also, in some cases, grants, long-term residents from third countries a more favourable status as regards their rights of residence and access to the labour markets of the EU-15 than citizens of eight of the new Member States; stressing that displaying solidarity with workers from third countries should not result in discrimination against workers from the new Member States,
K. whereas under the preference rule provided for in the Accession Treaty[6], the EU-15 have to give priority, whenever a job is offered to a third-country national, to nationals of the new Member States; and whereas a conflict could consequently arise between certain provisions of Directive 2003/109/EC and the preference rule of the Accession Treaty,
L. whereas according to the Commission communication of 21 December 2005 on Policy Plan on Legal Migration COM(2005)0669, the Member States' labour markets are showing signs of structural strain, reflected in the fact that as well as high unemployment, there are also severe labour shortages; whereas to relieve the strain, it is essential to take steps to provide greater flexibility and security, increase mobility, and make the markets more adaptable,
M. whereas, because of the structural strains affecting the European economies, labour needs in individual sectors can in some cases be met only with difficulty by drawing on the reserves of the national labour market alone,
N. whereas migration from the new Member States is having beneficial effects on the economies of the Member States which have opened up their labour markets, as it is improving industrial competitiveness, reducing undeclared work, helping to raise economic growth rates and create more new jobs, and generating higher tax revenue for the host countries' budgets,
O. whereas not only should consideration be given to the beneficial effects of opening up labour markets in the EU-15, but an analysis should also be carried out of the positive and negative effects of economic migration on the new Member States,
P. whereas the continued denial of opportunities for workers from the new Member States to work legally in most of the EU-15 has fuelled more illegal work, the promotion of the black economy and worker exploitation,
Q. whereas migration is a very sensitive political issue in the EU and whereas it is therefore vital to inform European citizens properly about the principles underlying, and the real practical consequences of, free movement of workers within the EU,
R. whereas because the data on migration within the Community are inadequate and have not been sufficiently standardised, there are at present no proper statistical tools that would enable the European institutions and the Member States to keep up to date with the main trends and conjunctions of circumstances on the labour markets of the enlarged EU,
S. whereas the sketchy statistical data gathered by the Member States indicate that migration within the EU-15 is much higher than migration from the new Member States, whether expressed in absolute terms or as percentages of the working age population; whereas migration from the new Member States is not putting significant pressure on the EU-15 labour markets,
T. whereas the Member States’ statistics also show that the volume of migration from third countries far exceeds migration within the EU, whether in the EU-15 or in the enlarged EU,
U. whereas to gain citizens' confidence in open labour markets in the EU-15, it is essential to ensure compliance with, and strictly enforce, EC and national labour law,
V. whereas a decision by the Member States concerned to end the restrictions imposed under the transitional regime would reflect a clear message of solidarity between citizens in Western and Eastern Europe, who have been separated for many decades on unacceptable grounds,
W. whereas each EU-15 Member State will have to notify the Commission formally by 1 May 2006 whether it intends to maintain restrictions for an additional period of three years,
X. whereas the two sides of industry, in particular the ETUC and the Union of Industrial and Employer's Confederations of Europe, have pronounced themselves clearly in favour of lifting, as soon as possible, the restrictions currently in place under the transitional regime,
1. Calls on the Member States to abolish the transitional measures in force, given that there are no signs of strain on the labour markets of the Member States which have opted for openness without restrictions and that the fears of massive migration have proved groundless;
2. Notes that the transitional periods are a major contributory factor to higher levels of illicit working and sham self-employment, and will increasingly lead to regionally acute wage pressure and unfair working conditions, as well as to discrimination against and the exploitation of migrant workers;
3. Calls on the Member States to enforce the status quo clause and preference rule in the Accession Treaty whereby, when a post is vacant, nationals of the new Member States have priority over third-country nationals;
4. Calls on the Commission to institute proceedings under Article 226 of the EC Treaty without delay should any Member State fail to fulfil its obligations under Articles 12, 39, and 42 of the Treaty or the status quo clause of the Accession Treaty;
5. Regrets that several Member States are applying laws or administrative provisions that could be considered to impose greater restrictions on the freedom of movement of workers from the new Member States than those imposed when the Accession Treaty was signed; concludes that the extent of the restrictions imposed on nationals of the new Member States seeking to enter the EU-15 labour markets exceeds that authorised under the transitional arrangements;
6. Deplores the fact that measures based on discrimination between nationals of the EU-15 and the new Member States remain in force in some Member States, not least where access to social advantages is concerned; calls on Member States to repeal these discriminatory measures;
7. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that labour law is strictly enforced so as to guarantee that all EU workers are treated equally, that there is fair competition among businesses, and that social dumping is prevented; calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure that migrant workers are aware of their fundamental rights and obligations, in particular with regard to anti-discrimination legislation in line with Article 13 of the Treaty;
8. Urges the Commission and the Member States to increase their efforts to ensure the proper enforcement of existing EC legislation, labour standards and, in particular, the provisions of Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and the Council concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services[7], with appropriate reinforcement of administrative cooperation where justified;
9. Calls on the Commission to intensify cross-border joint action by the Member States’ labour inspectorates and to study the possibility of setting up a corresponding European cooperation network (i.e. a social Europol);
10. Calls on the Commission, the Member States, the two sides of industry and other specialised bodies in the public and/or private sector to establish a fair, transparent procedure enabling nationals of the new Member States to obtain employment under decent conditions of work, health and safety;
11. Calls on the Commission and the Council to produce, by January 2009 at the latest, standardised statistics on intra-EU migration, to set up a system for the systematic monitoring of migration of workers within the EU, and to provide the funds necessary to finance these actions;
12. Calls on the Commission, the Council, and the Member States to launch an information campaign aimed at the public at large with a view to informing citizens more fully about the principles underlying, and the consequences of, the freedom of movement of workers within the EU and to help combat discrimination based on nationality, race or, indeed, any other discrimination prohibited under Article 13 of the Treaty;
13. Calls on the EU-15 to consult the two sides of industry as necessary, in accordance with national custom and practice, before deciding whether to end or extend transitional arrangements concerning the freedom of movement of workers from the new Member States;
14. Calls on those Member States that wish to continue transitional arrangements to create during the next stage the conditions to ensure that the transitional arrangements are not continued beyond 2009;
15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, and the parliaments of the Member States and the accession and the candidate countries.
- [1] OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 17.
- [2] List referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession: for Czech Republic, see Annex V, paragraph 14; for Estonia, see Annex VI, paragraph 14; for Latvia, see Annex VII, paragraph 14; for Lithuania, see Annex IX, paragraph 14; for Hungary, see Annex X, paragraph 14; for Poland, see Annex XII, paragraph 14; for Slovenia, see Annex XIII, paragraph 14; and for Slovakia, see Annex XIV, paragraph 14.
- [3] Council decision of 12 July 2005 on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States, (OJ L 205, 6.8.2005, p. 21).
- [4] .
- [5] OJ L 16, 23.1.2004, p. 44.
- [6] List referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession.
- [7] OJ L 18, 21.1.1997, p. 1.
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Legal and political context
Free movement of workers, which enables nationals of any Member State to work in another Member State under the same conditions as nationals of that state, is one of the four fundamental freedoms provided for in the EC Treaty.
The Accession Treaty signed on 16 April 2003 between the EU 15 Member States and the Member States which joined the EU on 1 May 2004[1] lays down transitional arrangements concerning the free movement of workers within the enlarged Union. The arrangements took effect on 1 May 2004 and can continue for up to seven years, broken down into three distinct periods (2+3+2 years), in which transitional restrictions can be adopted under national law subject to different conditions.
On account of the Accession Treaty, however, the old Member States may not impose restrictions – even temporarily – on nationals of the eight new Member States who on the date of accession had been admitted onto their labour markets for a continuous period not less than 12 months. The transitional measures can be applied only to nationals of the eight new Member States who do not fall into the above category.
By virtue of a ‘status quo clause’ in the Accession Treaty, the EU 15 Member States must observe a preference rule whereby, when a job is offered to a third-country national, nationals of the Member States which joined the EU in May 2004 have priority over nationals of countries that do not belong to the Union.
The transitional arrangements must not, under any circumstances, run counter to equal treatment of nationals of the eight new Member States, for instance as regards access to social advantages, once they have been legally admitted onto EU 15 labour markets under the transitional arrangements in force.
Movement of workers from the eight new Member States: experience since 1 May 2004
From 1 May 2004, three old Member States (Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Sweden) opened up their labour markets without restrictions to nationals of the new Member States. The other EU 15 Member States have opted to apply national restrictions under the transitional arrangements. Also under the transitional arrangements, some of the new Member States have decided to act on a basis of reciprocity.
Regarding the United Kingdom, after the labour market was opened up, 60 000 job-seekers arrived from the new Member States in 2004; the two sectors chiefly concerned were agriculture and fisheries. Given the high number of vacancies, the influx certainly did not increase unemployment in those two sectors. On the contrary, the immediate effect it had was of improving the profitability and competitiveness of the businesses concerned, raising their productivity, and strengthening their financial position. In macroeconomic terms, the policy of opening up the labour market translates into a marked increase in the British growth rate. According to the expert reports available, migration of workers from the eight new Member Sates has helped to increase production and create new jobs and has substantially reduced the number of illegal workers.
Commission communication COM(2006).... on the functioning of the transitional arrangements (1 May 2004 to 30 April 2006) indicates that the number of workers from EU 10 living in an EU 15 country is a quarter as large as the number of EU 15 nationals working in another EU 15 Member State. The Commission communication also shows that the volume of migration from third countries far exceeds migration within the EU, be it in EU 15 or in the enlarged EU.
In the first quarter of 2005, the percentage of EU 10 workers compared to the working age population in the host country ranged from 0.001% in Portugal to 0.1% in France and the Netherlands, 1.4% in Austria, and 2% in Ireland. Furthermore, a substantial proportion of the work done by workers from EU 10 is of a temporary or seasonal nature. For example, 87% of the work permits issued in Austria were valid for less than six months. In Germany, 95% of the permits issued were of limited duration.
Transposition problems
When the legal framework established by the transitional arrangements was transposed into national law, some difficulties inevitably arose. There are cases in which a Member State’s law is such that nationals of the eight new Member States have to hold a work permit even if they had already been admitted at the time of accession onto the labour market concerned for a continuous period not less than 12 months. In other cases, workers from the eight new Member States legally admitted onto the labour market of an old Member State are subject to discriminatory laws, this being a precondition of access to social advantages.
In general, the experience passed on by some Member States shows that the free movement of nationals of the new Member States is being impeded by administrative action going far beyond what is provided for and allowed under the transitional arrangements.
- [1] OJ L 236, 23.9.2003.
PROCEDURE
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Title |
The transitional arrangements restricting the free movement of workers on EU labour markets | ||||||
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Procedure number |
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Committee responsible |
EMPL | ||||||
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Rapporteur(s) |
Csaba Őry |
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Discussed in committee |
21.2.2006 |
20.3.2006 |
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Date adopted |
21.3.2006 | ||||||
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Result of final vote |
+ - 0 |
37 3 4 | |||||
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Members present for the final vote |
Jan Andersson, Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, Iles Braghetto, Philip Bushill-Matthews, Milan Cabrnoch, Alejandro Cercas, Ole Christensen, Derek Roland Clark, Proinsias De Rossa, Harald Ettl, Richard Falbr, Ilda Figueiredo, Joel Hasse Ferreira, Roger Helmer, Stephen Hughes, Ona Juknevičienė, Jan Jerzy Kułakowski, Jean Lambert, Raymond Langendries, Bernard Lehideux, Elizabeth Lynne, Thomas Mann, Mario Mantovani, Ana Mato Adrover, Maria Matsouka, Ria Oomen-Ruijten, Csaba Őry, Siiri Oviir, Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, Jacek Protasiewicz, José Albino Silva Peneda, Kathy Sinnott, Jean Spautz, Anne Van Lancker, Gabriele Zimmer | ||||||
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Substitute(s) present for the final vote |
Edit Bauer, Mihael Brejc, Françoise Castex, Magda Kósáné Kovács, Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Leopold Józef Rutowicz, Elisabeth Schroedter, Georgios Toussas, Claude Turmes, Anja Weisgerber, Tadeusz Zwiefka | ||||||
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Date tabled |
23.3.2006 | ||||||
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Comments |
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