Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council

Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (Employment and Social Policy), 2 December 2024

Main results

Combatting unfair traineeships

The Hungarian presidency sought agreement on the Council’s negotiating position (‘general approach’) for the ‘traineeships directive’, which aims to improve working conditions for trainees and prevent employers from disguising employment relationships as traineeships.

Although a number of member states were ready to support the text as it currently stood, others felt that more time was needed to discuss outstanding issues. As a result, the Council will continue to work on the proposal under the Polish presidency.

The presidency also presented a progress report on the Council recommendation on a reinforced quality framework for traineeships, which calls for all trainees to be paid fairly, have access to adequate social protection and be given a mentor.

Comprehensive solutions to demographic challenges

The Council held a policy debate on the topic of comprehensive solutions to demographic challenges. The debate covered two main focus areas: supporting parents in today’s pressing demographic challenges, and unlocking the untapped potential of young and older generations.

Ministers took the floor to discuss some of the most pressing demographic challenges in their countries, such as an ageing population and a low birthrate, and explored some of the root causes of these challenges, in particular the difficulties regarding starting independent life and a family.

They also shared examples of measures they have taken to address demographic challenges, including flexible work arrangements and measures to promote gender equality, financial support and tax relief for parents and carers, lifelong learning for older people, more accessible and affordable housing, high-quality and easily accessible childcare facilities, and the fostering of intergenerational solidarity.

Labour and skills shortages in the EU

The Council approved conclusions on labour and skills shortages in the EU, with a focus on mobilising untapped labour potential. The conclusions follow up on the Commission’s action plan from March 2024 and focus on two of the five identified areas for action: helping underrepresented people access the labour market, and support for skills, training and education.

The EU needs to tackle labour and skills shortages if we are to remain at the vanguard of competitiveness, innovation and sustainable growth. The measures proposed in today’s conclusions will not only help address these shortages, they will also enable underrepresented groups access the labour market and increase their economic autonomy.

Márton Nagy, Hungarian Minister for National Economy

European Semester 2025

In the context of the 2025 European Semester cycle, ministers held a policy debate on future priorities in the fields of employment and social policy at EU level, including recent developments related to the social convergence framework.

The Council also:

adopted the guidelines for member states’ employment policies, submitted by the Commission in June 2024 as part of the European Semester spring package
took note of the presentation by the chairs of the Employment Committee (EMCO) and Social Protection Committee (SPC) on the assessment of the Social Convergence Framework (SCF)
endorsed the key messages stemming from EMCO’s review of the implementation of the 2022 individual learning accounts recommendation

Social inclusion of persons with disabilities

The Council approved conclusions on fostering social inclusion of persons with disabilities through employment, reasonable accommodation and rehabilitation.

The conclusions continue the momentum of recent developments at EU level relating to the rights of persons with disabilities, including the recently adopted directives on the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities.

The Council stresses the benefits of participating in employment as a way to facilitate the social inclusion of persons with disabilities.

The EU has made considerable progress in the last few years when it comes to promoting and protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, as attested by the recently adopted directives on the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities. Today’s conclusions build on that momentum, focusing on the right of persons with disabilities to access employment as a route to economic autonomy and social inclusion.

Ádám Kósa, Hungarian Minister of State for Disability

Promoting social inclusion by reducing territorial inequalities

The Council approved conclusions on improving access to services to promote the social inclusion of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion, including Roma, by reducing territorial inequalities.

The conclusions encourage EU countries to ensure that all citizens, including Roma, have equal access to quality enabling services and to employment services. They set out a range of potential measures to achieve this aim, such as place-based action plans, access to digital technology, and better identification and mapping of disadvantaged territories.

Women’s and girls’ mental health

The Council approved conclusions on strengthening women’s and girls’ mental health by promoting gender equality. The conclusions cover a wide range of measures, such as incorporating a gender perspective into the design of mental health policies, combatting all forms of violence and gender stereotypes, and raising awareness about the importance of the timely and correct implementation of recent equal treatment legislation.

Work-life balance and gender equality

The Council approved conclusions on ensuring work-life balance and gender equality for all generations in the context of demographic challenges.

Proposed measures include strengthening formal care services, introducing flexible working arrangements, and combatting ageism and promoting intergenerational solidarity.

Other business

The following topics were discussed under ‘other business’:

Current legislative proposals (information from the presidency):

Regulation on European Union labour market statistics on businesses

Current legislative proposals (information from the Commission):

Regulation on a public interface connected to the Internal Market Information System for the declaration of posting of workers

Presidency events (information from the presidency):

Informal meeting of employment and social affairs ministers
Informal meeting of ministers responsible for demography
High-level conferences

Tripartite social summit (information from the presidency and the Commission)

Equal treatment and intersectional discrimination (information from the presidency)

Commission reports on the implementation of equality strategies (information from the Commission):

Report on the implementation of the EU Anti-racism Action Plan 2020-2025
Report on the implementation of the national Roma strategic frameworks
Report on the implementation of the LGBTIQ equality strategy 2020-2025

Work programme of the incoming presidency (information from Poland)

Digital tools to promote free and fair movement of workers in the EU (information from Denmark, supported by Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Slovenia)

Porto Social Forum 2025 (information from Portugal)

EU survey on gender-based violence (information from the Commission)

Informal lunch

An informal debate took place over lunch on the topic of ‘tackling skill gaps for a successful green and digital transition towards high-quality jobs on the labour market’.

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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