The European Labour Authority (ELA) sits at the intersection of some of the continent’s most pressing challenges: labour shortages, undeclared work, migrant exploitation and the disruption brought by automation. Its Executive Director, Cosmin Boiangiu, spoke to Phileleftheros about what fair mobility means in practice, why Cyprus is on ELA’s radar, and how coordinated enforcement is beginning to bite.
The European labour market is undergoing major transformations due to digitalisation, demographic change and geopolitical instability. What do you see as the biggest challenge facing European workers today?
The European labour market is changing very quickly. From ELA’s perspective, one of the biggest challenges is making sure these changes remain fair for workers.
Demographic change, new technologies and geopolitical instability are all affecting labour markets across Europe. As a result, workers are being asked to adapt faster than ever. Moreover, we experience shortages and surpluses in European labour markets.
Some jobs are thus being transformed by digitalisation and AI, while others face labour shortages. So the real challenge is not only change itself, but ensuring workers have the skills, information and protection they need to navigate it.
Labour shortages are affecting many sectors across Europe, from construction and transport to healthcare and tourism. How serious is the problem, and how can the EU respond effectively?
Labour shortages are already a serious challenge in many sectors across Europe. From ELA’s perspective, this is not only an employment issue, but also a fair mobility issue.
Many shortages cannot be solved by national measures alone. The EU response has to make labour mobility work better in practice: with clear information, stronger cooperation between Member States and proper enforcement of the rules.
At the same time, labour shortages must not lead to lower standards. The objective should be to match labour demand and supply across borders while protecting workers’ rights and preventing abuse.
In Cyprus, for instance, there were 63 occupations (out of a total of 436 occupations) reported to be in shortage in 2025. For 59 of the 63 shortage occupations, there is at least one other EURES country which identified the same occupation to be in surplus, suggesting potential for transnational matching opportunities. An example could be the occupation of cleaners and helpers in offices, hotels and other establishments which is reported as a shortage occupation by Cyprus. While Greece reports a surplus of cleaners and helpers.
Conversely, 11 occupations were in surplus in Cyprus in the same year. One of these occupations is physiotherapists. This occupation is reported to be in shortage in Austria, Germany, Slovenia and neighbouring Greece, among others indicating possibilities for alleviating shortages elsewhere through transnational worker mobility.
Within its mandate, ELA supports this through cooperation between national authorities, joint inspections and better access to information for workers and employers.
At a time when many European economies increasingly rely on foreign workers to address labour shortages, how can governments balance economic needs with growing political concerns surrounding migration?
The challenge for governments is to ensure that labour migration is well regulated, transparent and properly enforced, while responding to their needs to address the existing demand. The evidence shows that the concerns about migration are often related to the feeling of a lack of control or proper management. From ELA’s perspective, the balance is possible if mobility is fair, rules-based, credible, and at the same time, it respects the principle of first looking at local resources, than EU, and only after that, to third countries..
When recruitment is transparent, rights are protected and inspections are effective, governments are better placed to respond to labour market needs while addressing concerns about abuse or social dumping. This matters especially in cross-border situations, where weak enforcement can quickly undermine trust.
An important part of the solution is stronger cooperation between Member States, better information for workers and employers, and effective action against fraud, abuse and exploitation.
Fair mobility must go hand in hand with the protection of workers’ rights. Foreign workers should not be seen as a low-cost fix, but as workers who must be employed under fair conditions and equal rules.
At the same time, employers and businesses should have a clear overview of the applicable rules and procedures, and we should aim to facilitate them through digitalisation, if there is demand for the workforce from outside, we should be able to hire it efficiently to secure the competitiveness of our market. Here, ELA is trying, at EU level, to explore ways how to minimise the unnecessary red tape.
If citizens see that labour mobility is orderly, fair and properly enforced, public confidence is more likely to grow. Similarly, if employers see that the procedures are proportionate, they will use the fair mobility pathways without opting for race to the bottom approach.
Has the cost-of-living crisis increased the risk of undeclared work and labour exploitation across Europe and particularly in Cyprus?
There is a need for further research to better understand if the relationship between the cost of living crisis increases, undeclared work and labour exploitation.
While more evidence is needed, it is important to underline that economic pressure can increase workers’ vulnerability rather than their willingness to engage in undeclared work, under-declared employment and dependent self-employment. In such situations, people may have fewer options and may be more exposed to unfair or non-compliant employment conditions.
Undeclared work and exploitation affect also mobile workers, who may be less informed about their rights and more dependent on employers. This is why cooperation between national authorities is essential. ELA supports Member States through joint and concerted inspections, information exchange and capacity building. The aim is to make abuses easier to detect and harder to hide.
Undeclared work remains a major issue across the EU. Which sectors are currently considered the most vulnerable, and why?
Sectors most vulnerable to undeclared work are typically those with high labour intensity, strong cost pressures, seasonal demand, subcontracting chains, or a high share of temporary and mobile workers. That often includes construction, agriculture, HORECA, transport, domestic work and some care and service activities.
The main vulnerability is often in how the work is organised. Where jobs are short-term, informal or depend on layers of intermediaries, it becomes easier to hide non-compliance.
From ELA’s point of view, this matters particularly when undeclared work affects all workers or has a cross-border dimension. It exposes workers to abuse, creates unfair competition and undermines trust in fair mobility.
This is why ELA supports cooperation between national authorities, joint and concerted inspections, and better access to information for workers and employers. The objective is both prevention and enforcement.
Cyprus has participated in a growing number of Concerted and Joint Inspections coordinated by the ELA. What does this reveal about the scale and nature of labour violations in Europe today?
The growing number of Concerted and Joint Inspections involving Cyprus shows that many labour violations today have a cross-border dimension and cannot be addressed by one Member State alone. It points above all to the complexity of today’s cases. These inspections often involve undeclared work, breaches of working conditions, social security irregularities or abuse in subcontracting chains.
The overall increase in Concerted and Joint Inspections supported by ELA reflects a growing level of engagement across all Member States, with inspections taking place across a wider range of enforcement situations and involving more frequent operational cooperation between national authorities. In many cases, this includes joint planning of inspections, coordinated field activities, and parallel checks carried out in different jurisdictions to follow related cases more effectively.
Since the establishment of ELA, the Cypriot authorities have participated in almost 40 Concerted and Joint Inspections, including around 15 inspections hosted in Cyprus itself. The level of participation has increased steadily each year, and further inspections are already planned for 2026.
These situations often relate to posting of workers, coordination of social security systems, and cases involving letterbox companies or complex corporate structures and sub-contracting chains operating across borders. Addressing such cases typically requires cooperation between several Member States, particularly where company activities or arrangements extend across different jurisdictions.
The value of these inspections is that they help national authorities work together in practice by sharing information, coordinating action and building a clearer picture of possible non-compliance. So the increase should be seen as a sign of stronger cooperation, not as a judgment on one country alone.
What are the most common forms of labour violations identified during inspections involving Cyprus?
From ELA’s perspective, it would not be appropriate to generalise about Cyprus beyond the findings of specific operational cases. What can be said more broadly is that inspections in Cyprus have mainly taken place across sectors such as construction, road transport, agriculture, and hospitality and commercial services and often focus on undeclared work, breaches of working conditions, posting-related issues, social security irregularities or misuse of subcontracting arrangements. Cyprus has an efficient investigative tool for inspections, the ERGANI Information System, which contains working time and employment records. Labour inspectors have been able to use it to identify targets of cross-border inspections as well as follow up with further investigations.
Across these inspections, the most common issues identified include undeclared or underdeclared work, non-compliance with minimum wage and wage protection rules, breaches of working-time provisions, and irregularities related to social security obligations. In some cases, inspections have also identified bogus self-employment, illegal employment of third-country nationals, and misuse of subcontracting arrangements.
In road transport specifically, checks have focused on compliance with driving time, break and rest requirements, as well as the correct use of tachographs and driver documentation.
These findings are consistent with broader trends observed in cross-border cases across the EU. They highlight that labour violations often emerge in contexts where work is temporary, mobile, or organised through complex contractual chains, and underline the importance of coordinated inspections and cooperation between Member States.
Cyprus is both a tourism-based and service-oriented economy with significant seasonal labour needs. What specific vulnerabilities do you identify in Cyprus?
Cyprus’s economic profile can create vulnerabilities that are also seen in other Member States with strong seasonal sectors. These may include temporary work, heavy reliance on labour mobility, recruitment through intermediaries and challenges in monitoring compliance in fast-changing labour demand.
ELA would therefore look in particular at where mobility, seasonal demand and vulnerable working situations overlap, because that is where the risk of abuse can increase.
Are there sufficient inspection mechanisms and resources in Cyprus to effectively combat undeclared work?
It would not be appropriate to assess whether one Member State has sufficient mechanisms or resources without a formal evaluation. What can be said is that effective action against undeclared work depends on strong national capacity, good inter-authority cooperation and the ability to address cross-border cases in practice. That is precisely where ELA can add value, by supporting cooperation, information exchange and joint operational activities between Member States.
In the case of Cyprus, this support has been delivered through a Mutual Assistance Project (MAP) implemented in 2024–2025. The project focuses on strengthening the capacity and performance of the Centralised Labour Inspectorate of Cyprus through tailored expertise, peer exchange and practical cooperation.
Concrete results are already visible. During a follow-up visit in June 2025, combined with a joint inspection in the construction sector involving several Member States, inspectors identified multiple cases of undeclared and under-declared work, demonstrating both the relevance and the effectiveness of coordinated action when tackling undeclared work. At the same time, Cyprus has made progress in areas such as the use of the ERGANI system for data sharing, increased financial penalties, and steps toward introducing labour ID cards in the construction sector.
Overall, MAPs show how targeted, peer-driven support at EU level can help strengthen national inspection systems and enhance their ability to combat undeclared work in a practical and sustainable way.
Artificial intelligence and automation are rapidly transforming the world of work. Which professions do you believe are most at risk over the next decade?
Digitalisation, automation and artificial intelligence are likely to have the greatest impact in areas where tasks are routine, repetitive, easily standardised or heavily data-based. But from ELA’s perspective, the focus should be less on predicting individual professions and more on managing fair transitions for workers.
In many sectors, technology is more likely to transform tasks than eliminate occupations altogether. That means workers will need support to adapt, reskill and move through labour market transitions.
From ELA’s point of view, the key issue is to ensure that these transitions remain fair, especially in a labour market shaped by mobility, skills shortages and demographic change. Workers need information, protection and support, especially those in more vulnerable forms of employment.