The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have reached a provisional agreement for the creation of a unique digital portal through which companies will be able to submit declarations regarding posted workers in other member states. The tool is expected to reduce bureaucracy for companies providing cross-border services, but also to help authorities and trade unions to more easily verify whether the rules regarding worker protection are being respected.
The European Union is preparing a unique digital portal for companies that temporarily send employees to work in another member state. The provisional agreement between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union aims to reduce the paperwork required from companies, but also to make it easier to verify compliance with the rules for posted workers.
In short
The digital portal will allow companies to submit online declarations for posted workers in other member states.
Member states will be able to use the portal voluntarily, through an interface connected to the internal market information system.
The agreement introduces a standard form for online declarations, containing information about the service provider, the posted worker, and the actual posting.
Companies will be able to upload relevant documents through the public interface of the portal.
The scope will also include service providers from countries outside the European Union.
In the single market, there are approximately five million posted workers. These are employees temporarily sent by a company to work in another member state, for example on a construction site, in an industrial project, in transport, services, or other cross-border activities.
For companies, one of the major issues is that each member state can require different documents and procedures. A company sending workers to multiple countries must manage separate forms, deadlines, and administrative requirements, which can become costly and difficult, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.
For workers, the problem is different. If information does not circulate well between states, authorities and trade unions may have difficulties in verifying wages, working conditions, and compliance with posting rules. In such situations, compliant companies bear additional bureaucracy, while companies that try to evade the rules may be harder to detect.
The digital portal agreed upon by negotiators is expected to provide a common interface for submitting posting declarations and related documents. Member states will be able to use the portal voluntarily, and the system will be connected to the Internal Market Information System, the European mechanism through which national authorities exchange information in the internal market.
At the recommendation of the European Parliament, the regulation will include an annex with a standard form for online declarations. The form must contain information about the service provider, the posted worker, and the actual posting.
The agreement also provides for a new functionality in the public interface, through which service providers will be able to upload relevant documents for the posting of workers. This part is important because it moves the procedure from a fragmented system of national documents to a common digital solution.
Negotiators have also expanded the scope of the regulation to include service providers from countries outside the European Union. This change matters in sectors where companies from outside the EU can provide services in the European market and can post workers within these activities.
The European Commission will need to evaluate the effectiveness of the tool five years after the portal becomes operational. The evaluation will also analyze whether the common interface can be further developed to be used more widely by member states and whether the information required by the form remains necessary and proportionate.
The rapporteur of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, Johan Danielsson, S&D MEP from Sweden, stated that the agreement must help authorities and trade unions to more easily verify compliance with the rules and make it more difficult to exploit workers. He stated that the tool will facilitate the exchange of information and the detection of cross-border abuses, while simultaneously reducing the administrative burden for law-abiding companies.
The rapporteur of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Andreas Schwab, EPP MEP from Germany, stated that the posting of workers is important for European companies, but has been hindered by fragmentation. He asserted that the Parliament has sought a broader adoption and simplified rules, and the tool must remain practical so that companies do not have to hire additional staff just to use it.
The agreement is provisional and must be formally confirmed by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. The proposed regulation establishes a multilingual public electronic interface connected to the internal market information system, through which service providers can electronically submit posting declarations and relevant documents.
The posting of workers is one of the sensitive areas of the single market. It allows companies to provide services in other member states and offers economic flexibility, but requires effective controls to ensure that worker mobility is not used for social dumping, unfair competition, or violations of employee rights.
Latest News
19:23
19:10
18:24
17:52
17:16
See more news