Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council

Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (Employment and social policy), 11 March 2024

Main results

Platform work

Employment and social affairs ministers endorsed the agreement reached with the European Parliament on the platform work directive. This new law aims to improve working conditions for platform workers and regulate the use of algorithms by digital labour platforms.

This is the first-ever piece of EU legislation to regulate algorithmic management in the workplace and to set EU minimum standards to improve working conditions for millions of platform workers across the EU. The agreement confirmed today builds on the efforts of previous Council presidencies and reaffirms the social dimension of the European Union. Pierre-Yves Dermagne, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy and Employment

During the discussion, ministers stressed the importance and timeliness of the new directive, given the rapid expansion of new technologies and ways of working. They also welcomed the flexibility that the compromise agreement affords to member states to implement the rules at national level.

European Pillar of Social Rights and the European Semester

Ministers held a policy debate on the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights in the framework of the European Semester and the future social agenda.

During the discussion, they stressed the vital role of the Pillar as a compass for the EU’s social policy and drew attention to ongoing challenges such as adapting to the green and digital transitions, demographic trends, risks to work-life balance, availability of affordable housing, and the cost of living.

They also highlighted key areas of focus for the future, including upskilling and reskilling, increasing labour market participation (especially vulnerable groups), reinforcing social dialogue, addressing inequality, boosting upward social convergence, and combatting poverty and social exclusion.

Finally, several ministers took the floor to welcome the upcoming joint policy debate with ministers of economic and financial affairs on social investments and reforms for resilient economies, noting the potential benefits of enhanced cooperation between the two Council configurations and stressing that social and economic policies are the two sides of the same coin.

The Council also endorsed an opinion of the Employment Committee (EMCO) and the Social Protection Committee (SPC) on the EU’s future policy priorities for the European Pillar of Social Rights.

The Belgian presidency will take account of the priorities put forward by the ministers and the opinion of the two Committees in preparing the inter-institutional declaration that it will sign at the La Hulpe conference with the EU institutions, the social partners and civil society.

Ministers also adopted the joint employment report (JER) and approved Council conclusions on the 2024 annual sustainable growth survey (ASGS) and the JER. Both the growth survey and the employment report are part of the European Semester autumn package.

A Bridge to Jobs – Reinforcing the Youth Guarantee

Ministers endorsed a set of key messages from EMCO on the implementation of the Council recommendation ‘A Bridge to Jobs – Reinforcing the Youth Guarantee’. The aim of the recommendation, which was adopted in 2020, was to better support youth employment across the EU.

Social investment and reforms for resilient economies

On Tuesday 12 March, at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, employment and social affairs ministers took part in a policy debate with ministers of economic and financial affairs on the topic of social investments and reforms for resilient economies.

Ministers discussed what they considered to be the positive effects of social reforms and investments on economic growth and fiscal sustainability, and shared examples of recent employment and social reforms in their countries that had contributed to higher growth potential. They also reflected on how cooperation between the ECOFIN and EPSCO work streams could be further enhanced to better assess the impact of social investments and reforms on economic growth, fiscal sustainability and social cohesion in the European Semester context.

Echoing the importance attached by a number of delegations to assessing the returns of social investments and reforms, the Belgian presidency announced that it intends to invite the Employment and Social Protection Committees to develop common guidelines in this regard.

Social investments and reforms for resilient economies – Investing in people to boost productivity and growth prospects

Other business

The Belgian presidency provided an update on the state of play of the directives on the European disability card and European parking card for persons with disabilities. Together with the Commission, the Belgian presidency shared information about the recent Social Partners Summit in Val Duchesse and the upcoming Tripartite Social Summit.

Other items on the agenda included the Commission’s upcoming proposals, recent events organised by the Belgian presidency, and the EMCO and SPC work programmes for 2024.

The Danish delegation shared information about a letter to the Commission regarding limit values for dangerous substances in the workplace.

Watch the recording of the public session

The Council also adopted without discussion the items on the lists of legislative and non-legislative A items.

Meeting files

Preparatory documents

Outcome documents

List of participants

Meeting voting results

Press releases

Press information

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