Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion 2023

Infringement cases open at year-end 2019 - 2023

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By clicking on the multi-level chart, you can consult, for 2023, the number of infringement cases open at the year-end per policy sector and per type of infringement.

Compliance promotion activities in 2023

Guidelines on how to implement EU law

• In 2023, the Commission published guidelines for the safe management of hazardous medicinal products. These guidelines are designed for workers in the healthcare sector and help Member States to implement the Carcinogens Directive (Directive 2004/37/EC) as well as other related EU legislation in this field.
• The Senior Labour Inspectors’ Committee, set up by the Commission, published a ‘Paper on digitalisation and the use of machinery and robotics using artificial intelligence’. It addresses occupational safety and health (OSH) enforcement issues related to robotics and digitalisation to support national labour inspectors in all Member States in their role of advisers to promote better implementation of relevant EU OSH Directives, i.e. the Framework OSH Directive (Directive 89/391/EEC), Work Equipment Directive (Directive 2009/104/EC), Display Screen Directive (Directive 90/270/EEC) and Machinery Directive (Directive 2006/42/EC).
• The Commission supported Member States in the transposition of the Minimum Wage Directive(EU)2022/2041 through the Report issued by the specialist Expert Group. This report aims at supporting the legislative work leading to the transposition of the Directive in Member States.

Meetings with Member States

• The expert group for Directors General for Industrial Relations held two meetings in 2023, on 31 May (Madrid) and on 14 November (Brussels). By exchange of new developments, the meetings help the Commission identify any issues related to implementation of EU legislation.
• Additionally, on 5 December 2023, the sub-group of the Directors General for Industrial Relations on the Working Time Directive held its seventh annual meeting. These meetings help the Commission assess the implementation of the Directive across the Member States.
• Two Committee of Senior Labour Inspectors plenary meetings, as well as the meetings of its working groups, contributed to promote effective and equivalent enforcement approaches of EU OSH Directives (occupational safety and health).
• In 2023, the Commission carried out three ad-hoc meetings of the informal group on transposition of the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882), composed of the national contact points.  During these events, the Commission discusses the Directive’s provisions, facilitates compliance with the related requirements, monitors implementation and highlights opportunities that arise from exchanges of practices on implementation.
• The Advisory Committee on free movement of workers, composed of national authorities and representatives of social partners, met twice to discuss the recent developments in the area of free movement of workers and labour mobility at EU level.
• The Commission has set up an expert group to provide advice and support in monitoring the correct and timely transposition by Member States of the Minimum Wage Directive (Directive (EU) 2022/2041). In the course of 2023, this group held eight meetings and discussed collective agreements coverage and promotion of collective bargaining through public procurement among other topics.
• Together with the European Labour Authority, the Commission launched the Posting 360 Mutual Learning and Understanding Programme. Designed to provide a forum of extensive cooperation between all relevant stakeholder, the Programme aims at exchanging information and knowledge on EU and national rules on the posting of workers.

Package meetings

Package meetings are meetings between the Commission and a Member State to discuss implementation issues and infringement cases in a given policy area. They can be held before the Commission has detected a breach of EU law or concern existing EU Pilot dialogues or infringement cases of the Member State. Package meetings can be an efficient tool to deal with challenges a Member State may face in a policy area, across different acts of EU legislation.

The Commission held the following package meeting with Member States in the policy area of employment, social affairs and inclusion: the Commission met the Italian authorities on 19 and 20 October 2023 to discuss several infringement cases and EU-Pilot files and other ongoing investigations. The discussions covered a wide range of topics, from labour mobility to working time and social security coordination. The cases discussed moved forward and it led to the rectification of many issues. As a result, one of the cases discussed, concerning citizenship income (INFR(2022)4024), has been closed.

Other compliance promotion tools     

• The Commission adopted, in March 2023, a working time package consisting of three documents: the Report on the implementation by Member States of the Working Time Directive (Directive 2003/88/EC) provides an overview of how Member States have implemented the Directive and highlights the main issues. It is accompanied by a more detailed Staff Working Document. The Interpretative Communication, which summarises the case-law of the Court of Justice on the Directive, aims to bring legal clarity and certainty to stakeholders when applying the Directive.
• Every five years, Member States must submit a single report to the Commission on the practical implementation of the Framework Occupational Safety and Health Directive (Directive 89/391/EEC) and other relevant Occupational Safety and Health Directives. Member States had until the end of 2023 to submit the report indicating the points of view of the social partners. The structure of the national report, together with a questionnaire specifying its content, was defined in cooperation with the Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work, originally in the Commission Decision of 20 December 2011.
• In 2023, several informal meetings were held with some Member States in the context of related investigations through the EU Pilot dialogue to discuss specific Occupational Safety and Health technical points, e.g. on the transposition of the first amendment to the Carcinogens Directive (Directive 2004/37/EC). They led to a better understanding of EU legislation requirements by members of national administrations, and thus helped resolving breaches.
• During the 2023 European Employment & Social Rights Forum, the Commission organised a workshop for Member States’ representatives focused on implementation and enforcement of EU social provisions. The workshop gathered Member States’ officials and Commission staff to discuss current challenges and find common solutions to issues surrounding enforcement and implementation of EU social law.

Follow-up given to petitions

Labour law
In 2023 the Commission worked on 38 petitions related to the breach of EU law. 15 new petitions have been received and analysed by the Commission in 2023; for 23 petitions from previous years, the Commission informed the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions about actions taken. Several of these petitions are linked to ongoing infringements and complaints, and alleged breaches of EU law are investigated under these procedures:

• Petition 0121/2015 on wage discrimination against temporary employees in the Autonomous Community of Navarre and Petition 1310/2016 on discrimination against public sector employees with fixed-term contracts as compared to employees with permanent contracts in the autonomous community of Andalucía (INFR(2014)4224).
• Petition 0800/2022 on temporary employment in the public sector in Spain (INFR(2014)4334).
• Petition 0389/2015 (several others linked), Petition 0411/2016 on the repeated renewal of fixed-term contracts by the region of Sicily (Italy) (several others linked) - last Committee on Petitions’ meeting took place on 25 January 2023, Petition 1488/2020 on the recruitment to permanent posts of teachers declared fit to teach in a previous competition and Petition 0631/2020 on the recognition of qualifications acquired by non-established teaching staff through ‘experience in the field’ (INFR(2014)4231).
• Petition 1328/2015 on the statute on Justices of the Peace in Italy (several others linked): the last Committee on Petitions’ meeting took place on 25 March 2023; Petition 0695/202 on the presumed breach by Italy of the EU Directives on working conditions (Pregnant Workers Directive, Part-Time Work Directive, Fixed-Term Work Directive, Working Time Directive) regarding honorary judges (INFR(2016)4081).
• Petition 1567/2009 on contract teachers in Portugal (INFR(2021)4050).
• Petition 0290/2019 on discrimination and unfair terms in the indefinite employment of workers by the Cypriot authorities: Cypriot complaints on fixed-term work.
• Petition 0683/2019 on the discriminatory treatment of temporary staff in the Spanish public service: multiple complaints on fixed-term work in Spain (CPLT(2013)01917).

For the following petitions, the Commission attended the European Parliament Committee on Petitions’ meetings:

• Petition 0411/2016 on fixed-term work in Italy – The Commission informed the Committee of steps taken in related infringement proceedings (25 January 2023).
• Petition 0020/2016 on working conditions in restaurants in Belgium, particularly McDonald’s establishments – the Commission decided to investigate the matter further (26 April 2023).
• Petition 1328/2015 on fixed-term work in Italy – the Commission informed the Committee of steps taken in related infringement proceedings (25 May 2023).

Occupational safety and health
The Commission decided not to pursue further the following three petitions:

• Petition 0495/2021 on the high number of fatal accidents in the construction sector in Malta – following the investigation and exchanges with Maltese authorities, the petition was closed.
• Having thoroughly examined Petition 0022/2022 on the precarious working conditions for female workers in the shoe industry, the Commission informed the European Parliament that the matter falls within the competence of national authorities.
• Regarding Petition 0638/2023 on the implementation of the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2021-2027 in Romania, namely the prevention of workplace accidents that may result in serious injuries and even death, particularly for the oil refinery, the Commission concluded that it needs to be addressed by the national authorities.

Non-discrimination in employment and inclusion
10 new petitions have been received in 2023 and 31 petitions from previous years were pursued with an informal dialogue with Member States concerned. Among those, the Commission updated the European Parliament Committee on Petitions about:

• Petition 0427/2023 related to INFR(2023)2015 against Italy on the failure to fully transpose the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882).
• Petition 1056/2016 requesting the European Parliament to allow the tabling of petitions in national sign languages used in the EU.
• Petition 1105/2022 in respect to the alleged discrimination against persons with disabilities in Romania.

Further, the Commission assessed and decided not to pursue investigations concerning the following petitions alleging a breach of EU law, for the reasons indicated below:

• Petition 0335/2023 on access to employment in Portugal for persons with disabilities: the Commission considered that the Portuguese legislation does not breach the Employment Equality Directive and that the issue should be handled at national level.
• Petition 1144/2022 on right to equal treatment of permanent contract staff in Spain’s national post office: the Commission considered that the situation of the petitioner does not come within the scope of the Employment Equality Directive, which is consequently not infringed in the present case.

Labour mobility
The Commission updated the European Parliament Committee on Petitions about:

• Petition 689/1998 regarding discrimination of foreign lecturers (‘Lettori’) in Italian universities. In the linked infringement proceedings INFR(2021)4055, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Italy in April 2023. The Commission referred Italy to the Court of Justice, the application was lodged in August 2023.
• Petition 0174/2022 regarding the application of posting allowances in Sweden. The Commission indicated that it is currently assessing the transposition of the Posting of Workers Enforcement Directive in all Member States.
• Petition 0132/2022 regarding child-care benefits for cross-border workers in Austria was closed following contacts with the Austrian authorities and directing the petition towards a solution at national level.

Important preliminary rulings

• Lufthansa CityLine, C-660/20;
• NC (joined cases), C-583/21;
• Sparkasse Südpfalz, C-206/22;
• TP (Monteur audiovisuel pour la télévision publique), C-356/21;
• Commune d’Ans, C-148/22;
• AP Assistenzprofis, C-518/22.

Outlook for 2024

In 2024, the Commission will continue important implementation and enforcement work in the policy area of employment. In particular, the Commission services will focus on the following tasks in the field of labour law:

• The Commission will conduct completeness and conformity assessments of the transposition by Member States of the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directive (Directive (EU)1152/2019).
• The Commission will continue to follow up on open infringement proceedings and EU Pilot investigations on the Fixed-Term Work Directive (Directive 1999/70/EC), the Working Time Directive (Directive 2003/88/EC), the Temporary Agency Work Directive (Directive 2008/104/EC), and the European Works Council Directive (Directive 2009/38/EC).

The planned actions undertaken in the field of occupational safety and health are:

• The verification of the completeness of the transposition of the Fourth amendment to Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (Directive (EU) 2022/431) for all Member States, following its transposition deadline on 5 April 2024, and launch, if necessary, related infringement proceedings.
• The Commission will continue to dialogue with relevant Member States in the context of the open EU Pilot investigations on the following Directives:
  • Fourth list of Indicative Occupational Exposure Limit Values Directive (Directive (EU) 2017/164) regarding Czechia and Poland;
  • First amending Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (Directive (EU) 2017/2398) regarding Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia;
  • Commission Directive (EU) 2019/1833 amending the Biological Agents Directive (Directive 2000/54/EC) (technical adjustments) regarding the 14 Member States concerned (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, France, Latvia, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden);
  • Construction Sites Directive (Directive 92/57/EEC).
• The Commission will continue the conformity checks of the following Directives and their follow-up:
  • Second amending Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/130);
  • Third amending Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/983);
  • Fifth list of Indicative Occupational Exposure Limit Values Directive (Commission Directive (EU) 2019/1831);
  • Commission Directive (EU) 2019/1832 (personal protective equipment);
  • Commission Directive (EU) 2019/1834 (medical treatment on board vessels).

Combatting discrimination in employment in 2024, the Commission will:

• continue assessing the national measures adopted by the Member States to transpose the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882);
• continue monitoring the respect of the implementation of the Employment Equality Directive (Council Directive 2000/78/EC) by all Member States.

Protecting rights of posted workers in the framework of the provision of services, the Commission will:

• continue the infringement proceedings against those Member States which legislation is not-conform with the Enforcement Directive on Posting of Workers (Directive 2014/67/EU). The Commission also plans in 2024 to continue its assessment of the transposition by the Member States of the revised Posting of Workers Directive (Directive (EU) 2018/957) after the planned publication of the report on the implementation and application of the Directive.

Ensuring equitable minimum wages, the Commission plans:

• to start assessing the correct and timely transposition by Member States of Adequate Minimum Wage Directive (Directive (EU) 2022/2041) at the end of 2024 (transposition deadline: 15 November 2024).