Commission welcomes important step to modernise EU social security coordination rules and strengthen fair labour mobility

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The European Commission welcomes the approval by EU Member States of the revision of the social security coordination rules.

The revised rules are an important step towards fair labour mobility in the EU. They make it easier for people to work, live or retire in other Member States, or to seek a job across the border – ensuring that their social security rights are well protected. They also reduce administrative burdens and legal uncertainty for companies that operate cross-borders.

Member States’ representatives approved today the agreement between the Council Presidency and the European Parliament from last week. The European Parliament and the Council of the EU will now have to formally confirm it before entering into force. The revision updates the rules in force since 2010.

Key changes in the revised coordination rules include:

• Improved protection of social security rights for people working or living abroad, with the establishment of a coherent regime for the coordination of long-term care benefits, and new rules regarding family benefits. The rules also improve equal treatment by specifying when Member States can limit access to social benefits for EU citizens who neither work not actively search for a job.
• Strengthened fair labour mobility with a new definition of fraud in social security coordination, introduction of three-week prior affiliation requirement before posting, 2-month interruption requirement between posting periods for both employees and self-employed, new prior notification obligation for posting with exception for business trips and short term 3 days posting (construction sector excluded).
• New arrangements for the coordination of unemployment benefits in cross-border cases, as well as the extension of the period in which a person can move to another country to seek work while retaining the entitlement to unemployment benefits.
• Clearer rules defining which social security laws are applicable, in particular for the posting of workers and for work performed in two or more Member States.
• Strengthened administrative cooperation between national authorities, through improved information exchanges on the social security status of people working in a different country, the introduction of clearer procedures and timelines in case of doubt about the validity of documents, and new tools to prevent fraud, abuse and errors.

Background

Each Member State is free to determine the features of its own social security system, including which benefits are provided, the conditions for eligibility, how these benefits are calculated and what contributions should be paid. At the same time, about 16 million European citizens live or work in another Member State. The EU provides rules to coordinate the national social security systems and ensure social security protection when a person moves within EU Member States as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

These rules facilitate free movement by ensuring continuity of protection for workers, jobseekers, students and others, and prevent a person from being left without coverage or having to pay contributions in more than one Member State at a time.

Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009 have governed this coordination framework since 2010. Parliament and Member States now agreed on revised rules, which were proposed by the Commission in 2016 to reflect increased labour mobility, developments in national social security systems and relevant case law.

For more information

Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

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