The European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee has approved a provisional agreement on social security rules for workers moving within the EU, in a vote of 47 in favour, three against and four abstentions.
The agreement, reached with member state governments last week, opens the way for a revision of the rules coordinating social security systems across the EU. It must still be formally approved by both the full Parliament and the Council before taking effect.
If approved, the agreement would introduce clearer criteria for determining which country’s social security legislation applies to a mobile worker. It would also strengthen cooperation between member states on the immediate sharing of information needed to identify errors or fraud, including abusive practices such as the use of letterbox companies.
The text also clarifies how periods of work, self-employment or insurance completed in different member states are aggregated when assessing entitlement to unemployment benefits. The member state where a person last worked or was insured would be responsible for paying benefits, provided the person was active there for at least one uninterrupted month.
People who move to another EU country to look for work would be entitled to receive unemployment benefits for six months from the country they left, under the agreement. That period could be extended until the end of their entitlement.
For cross-border workers, the updated rules clarify which member state is responsible for paying benefits. If an unemployed cross-border worker has worked as an employee, been self-employed or been insured for an uninterrupted period of 22 weeks in one member state, that state would be responsible for paying their benefits.
The revised rules also draw a clearer distinction between family benefits paid in cash — designed to replace income when a person leaves or reduces work to raise a child — and other types of family benefit.