The European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee has endorsed a provisional agreement with EU member states on updated rules coordinating social security systems across the bloc.
The agreement was approved by 47 votes in favour, three against and four abstentions.
The updated rules are intended to ensure access to social security for EU workers who live or work in another member state, while distributing obligations fairly among countries.
Under the agreement, clearer criteria would determine which country’s social security legislation applies in cross-border cases. The rules are also intended to improve cooperation between member states by ensuring information is shared promptly to identify errors, fraud and abusive practices, including letterbox companies.
The agreement clarifies how periods of work, self-employment and insurance completed in different member states are counted when assessing entitlement to unemployment benefits. The member state where a person last worked or was insured would be responsible if the individual had been active there for at least one uninterrupted month.
People moving to another EU country to seek work would be entitled to receive unemployment benefits for six months from the country they left, with the possibility of extending payments until the end of their entitlement period.
For cross-border workers, the revised law states that benefits would be paid by the member state where the worker had been employed, self-employed or insured for an uninterrupted period of 22 weeks.
The revised rules also distinguish between family benefits paid in cash to replace income when a person reduces or gives up work to raise a child, and other family benefits. According to the agreement, the change is aimed at encouraging a more equal sharing of childcare responsibilities and removing financial disincentives for parents reducing working hours to care for children.
The agreement further clarifies how long-term care benefits should be coordinated across the EU. It introduces a definition of long-term care benefits and a list of benefits covered under the rules, with the aim of increasing legal certainty for people who need care and those providing it.
Workers or self-employed persons sent to another EU country for up to 24 months would remain insured in the member state where their employer is established or where they normally work, provided they are not replacing a previously posted employee. To address fraud and errors, workers must have been insured for at least three months before being sent abroad.
A mandatory prior notification system would also be introduced for workers carrying out activities in another member state. Exceptions would apply to business trips and short-term activities lasting no more than three consecutive days within a 30-day period, although the construction sector would not qualify for this exemption.
For people working in two or more member states, the updated rules provide additional guidance on determining the employer’s registered office or place of business. Relevant factors include where essential decisions are taken, where turnover is generated and where general meetings are held.
Negotiators also agreed, in line with rulings by the EU Court of Justice, that economically inactive mobile citizens should have comprehensive sickness insurance coverage in their host member state.
Gabriele Bischoff, (S&D,DE) the Parliament rapporteur on the file, said the committee vote marked “the next major step towards clearer, fairer and more enforceable rules for everyone who lives or works across borders in the EU.”
She said the agreement demonstrated that Europe could “protect workers, support fair mobility, strengthen trust between national systems and strengthen coordination between member states to tackle abuse.”
The provisional agreement must still be formally adopted by both the European Parliament and the Council before the updated rules can enter into force.
