On 21 June 2018 the EPSCO Council discussed agenda items relating to employment and social affairs. The head of the Hungarian delegation was Ms Katalin Novák Minister of State for Family and Youth Affairs.
The ministers adopted officially the revision of the 96/71/EC posting of workers directive. Hungary and Poland voted against of the directive, Croatia, Latvia and Lithuania abstained. Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania and Portugal made written statements as well, outlining their general concerns and they emphasized the transport aspects of the agreement, especially in light of the still ongoing negotiations on the so-called posting lex specialis proposal.
The Council adopted general approach on the draft regulation on social security coordination, which opens the road towards trilogues with the European Parliament. Hungary, just as the vast majority of the Member States, made it clear, it can not accept indexation of family benefits. Indexation is a seriously discriminative, unfair, unjustified and disproportionate measure, which goes counter the fundamental values of the European Union and questions the achievements of the social security coordination.
The Member States reached agreement on the new coordination rules regarding unemployment benefits. The compromise is considered as a significant improvement compared to the Commission’s original proposal. In the field of aggregating entitlement periods gained in another member state, the risk of benefit loss is excluded, and for frontier workers only 3 months employment will be sufficient for establishing the competence of the Member State of last employment.
The Council also reached general approach on the transparent and predictable working conditions directive.
The Ministers adopted general approach on the directive on work-life balance for parents and carers. On the basis of this mandate, the Council Presidency will start negotiations with the European Parliament once the latter has adopted its position. The Member States reached an agreement ,based on the Romanian proposal, not reduce the length of the non-transferable period of parental leave from 2 month, but the payment or allowance shall be paid by the Member States for a period at least 1.5 months. Hungary underlined that the principle of subsidiarity has utmost importance regarding the proposal. Only solutions are acceptable which ensure the preservation of the rich and successful Hungarian family support system, our values and traditions. Hungary and Poland indicated their abstention, while Denmark and the Netherlands could not support the proposal.
The Ministers held a policy debate on the 2018 European Semester and adopted the country specific recommendations (CSRs) belonging to the EPSCO Council’s remit. They also adopted the revised employment guidelines and the opinions of the Employment (EMCO) and the Social Protection (SPC) Committees about the assessment of the 2018 Country-specific Recommendations (CSRs) and the implementation of the 2017 CSRs.
The Council adopted progress report about the draft regulation on establishing a European Labour Authority and also took stock of progress on the draft directive of equal treatment between persons, irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation (Article 19). The Ministers also adopted council conclusions on the future of work: A lifecycle approach; on the Special Report of the European Court of Auditors titled "Free Movement of Workers - the fundamental freedom ensured but better targeting of EU funds would aid worker mobility" and on integrated early childhood development policies as a tool for reducing poverty and promoting social inclusion.
The Ministers had a working lunch about the ESF+ and the revised EGF proposal, titled „Empowering social Europe in contributing to economic and social inclusion”.
