Page contents Page contents Infringement cases open at year-end 2018 - 2022 [notranslate]infringement_cases_open_at_year_end_2018_2022[/notranslate] By clicking on the multi-level chart, you can consult, for 2022, the number of infringement cases open at the year-end per policy sector and per type of infringement. Compliance promotion activities in 2022 Guidelines on how to implement EU law During and in the aftermath of the most acute phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission, together with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), made available guidelines supporting employers to prevent COVID-19 at the workplace and to deal with issues arising in connection with the pandemic as well as to properly apply the main principles of the Framework Directive (Directive 89/391/EEC). These guidelines are available in all EU official languages and are regularly updated. In 2022, existing guidelines, including information and guidance provided by EU-OSHA’s webpages and the OSH Wiki, to help employers and workers to stay safe and healthy in a pandemic and post-pandemic working environment, were updated. Moreover, further research and analysis documents were published to help stakeholders better understand the relevant issues and apply the occupational safety and health legal framework. For instance, in 2022, EU-OSHA published the ‘Impact of Long Covid on workers and workplaces and the role of OSH’ discussion paper and a new report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of the health and care workforce. Also, further practical tools and guidance to help employers with risk assessments in various sectoral and national contexts were published, including with regard to new and emerging risks. Meetings with Member States In the area of labour law, the subgroup of the Directors-General for Industrial Relations expert group (DGIR) on working time gathers experts at technical level from Member States and EEA-EFTA States. In its yearly meetings, the group discusses topical issues relating to the Working Time Directive (Directive 2003/88/EC) and its implementation, in particular recent and upcoming case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the field of working time. A dedicated webpage is continuously updated. These activities aim at preventing breaches from occurring by providing guidance and assistance to Member States at an early stage. On occupational safety and health, the Commission participated in a workshop, together with social partners Coiffure EU and UNI Europa, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and other experts on the safe use of cosmetic products by hairdressers at national level in 2022. This was the last of the activities jointly agreed between the social partners and the Commission to support the autonomous implementation of the European Framework Agreement on the Protection of Occupational Health and Safety in the Hairdressing Sector. Other compliance promotion tools In the area of occupational safety and health, and with a view to improve compliance with occupational safety and health rules, the Commission continued to support a joint action with stakeholders on a roadmap on carcinogens. This is a voluntary action scheme to raise awareness about the risks arising from exposure to carcinogens in the workplace and share good practices between companies and organisations. As regards anti-discrimination in employment, the Commission manages the Disability Platform, i.e. a Commission expert group gathering representatives from Member States and civil society organisations. The main objective of the Disability Platform is the implementation of the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 through strengthening cooperation between the Commission, the Member States and relevant civil society organisations. The Disability Platform met three times in 2022. The sub-group of the Expert group on the European Accessibility Act (EAA) (Directive (EU) 2019/882) gathers national contact points, as well as some experts invited on an ad-hoc basis, depending on the topic. Regular informal ad hoc meetings were organised in 2022 to discuss with the Member States the transposition of the EAA to facilitate compliance with the related requirements, monitor the implementation and exchange good practices. In line with the announcement in the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Commission launched the flagship initiative AccessibleEU in December 2022. This initiative has the objective to increase coherence in accessibility policies and facilitate access to more accessibility knowledge. This cooperation framework will bring together national authorities responsible for implementing and enforcing accessibility rules with experts and professionals from all areas of accessibility, to share good practices across sectors, to inspire policy development at national and EU level, as well as to develop tools and standards aiming to facilitate implementation of EU law. In the area of social security coordination, and in accordance with Article 71 of the Social Security Systems Coordination Regulation (Regulation (EC) 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems), the Administrative Commission met four times in 2022, providing national authorities the opportunity to share information about the application of the Regulation and to discuss topics raising difficulties of application. Follow-up given to petitions In 2022, the Commission treated 55 petitions related to alleged breaches of EU law in the area of Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. The Commission handled the most petitions in the areas of labour law, non-discrimination and equality in employment and social security coordination. As regards working conditions, the Commission did not detect any breach of EU law in 9 cases. Instead, in 25 cases, the issues raised in the petitions were already investigated by the Commission in an ongoing own-initiative investigation. For one petition (Petition 0897/2021), the Commission, at the end of 2022, awaited further information from the petitioner to conclude its investigation. In the area of non-discrimination, the Commission closed 8 petitions following an answer outlining applicable rules in place. On occupational safety and health, the Commission handled 3 petitions: in one case (Petition 0495/2021), the Commission contacted the Member State concerned and then closed since no breach of EU law was detected. In another case (Petition 0022/2022), the Commission detected no breach of EU law but the Parliament decided to keep the file open, following a meeting of the Parliament’s Petition Committee. In the third case, no breach of EU law was detected. In the area of labour mobility, the Commission closed one petition (Petition 0174/2021) due to an ongoing own-initiative investigation on the same issue as described therein. The Commission took the petitioner’s information duly into account in its assessment of transposition by Sweden of the Posting of Workers Enforcement Directive (Directive (EU) 2018/957) which amended the Posting of Workers Directive (Directive 96/71/EC), and decided on the next steps after finalising the assessment. Another petition was closed and not investigated further since the alleged breach of EU law was not systemic in nature but relates to an isolated violation to be addressed through national means of redress. As regards social security coordination, the Commission handled 7 petitions. Among them: 2 were closed due to an ongoing own-initiative investigation on the same issue; 2 petitions were answered through outlining applicable rules in place; 2 petitions led to further monitoring of the situation in the Member State concerned; 1 was closed due to the issue described therein not falling within the scope of EU law’s application. Important Court of Justice ruling against Member States Commission v Austria (Indexation des prestations familiales), C-328/20. Important preliminay rulings HR Rail, C-485/20; Bezirkshauptmannschaft Hartberg-Fürstenfeld, C-205/20; Ministero della Giustizia and others, C-236/20; INAIL and INPS, C-33/21; HK v Denmark and HK/Privat, C-587/20; Zone de secours Hainaut - Centre, C-377/21; S.C.R.L. (Vêtement à connotation religieuse), C-344/20; IG Metall and ver.di, C-677/20; Curtea de Apel Alba Iulia and Others, C-301/20; Ministero dell'Interno (Limite d’âge pour le recrutement des commissaires de police), C-304/21; Time Partner Personal management, C-311/21; Inspectoratul General pentru Imigrări (Acquisition de lunettes par un travailleur), C-392/21. MCM (Aides financières pour études à l’étranger), C-638/20. Outlook for 2023 In 2023, the Commission will continue important enforcement work in the following fields related to Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. Regarding labour law, the Commission will continuously present to the Member States updated information on EU law and jurisprudence through the group of Directors General for Industrial Relations. With specific regard to the Working Time Directive (Directive 2003/88/EC), it will promote compliance among the Member States through updates of the dedicated webpage and the specialist sub-group of Directors General for Industrial Relations. The Commission is also organising a Conference devoted to Temporary Agency Work Directive (Directive 2008/104/EC), to take place in May 2023, with the participation of labour law practitioners from all Member States, social attaches, and officers from the labour ministries and social partners. These activities are aimed at preventing breaches from occurring by providing guidance and assistance to Member States at an early stage. In the field of occupational safety and health, important implementation work in 2023 continues: The Commission will continue its work regarding the case of non-communication of national measures transposing Directive (EU) 2019/1834, a case that is still open, for which the relevant Member State communicated its transposition measures at the end of 2022. The Commission will continue the follow-up of the open EU Pilot cases with regard to the following Directives: 4th List of indicative occupational exposure limits values Directive (Directive (EU) 2017/164); 2nd Amending Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (Directive (EU) 2017/2398). The Commission will continue the conformity checks of the following Directives and their follow-up: 3rd Amending Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/130); 4th Amending Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/983); 5th List of Indicative Occupational Exposure Limit Values Directive (Commission Directive (EU) 2019/1831); Commission Directive (EU) 2019/1832; Commission Directive (EU) 2019/1833; Commission Directive (EU) 2019/1834. In the area of anti-discrimination in employment, in 2023, the Commission will continue monitoring the implementation of the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) with the help of a contractor. In this context, the Commission will organise in 2023 three informal meetings of the above-mentioned informal group on the European Accessibility Act to discuss with the Member States the transposition of this Directive. In the field of labour mobility, enforcement actions will continue to focus on the correct transposition and application of the Directives on Posting of Workers (Directive 2014/67/EU and Directive (EU) 2018/957).
