In view of the European Commission’s pilot project on a European Social Security Pass (ESSP) which it announced in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, and the draft resolution of the European Parliament on the “Introduction of a European Social Security Number with a personal labour card” the EFBWW and FIEC, the social partners in the European construction sector, declare:
EFBWW and FIEC call for effective digital tools and for ensuring the enforcement of the applicable legislation, to protect worker’s rights and at the same time to facilitate administrative procedures for the fair and free movement of companies and workers in the internal market. In this context, the introduction of a European social security pass should continue to guarantee the control competences of the authorities of the host country. It must not lead to the introduction of the country-of-origin principle.
EFBWW and FIEC consider it crucial to accelerate real-time cross-border access and exchange of electronic data for the enforcement of EU mobility rules, in line with GDPR regulations. It must at least allow for the identification of a worker, the employment relationship, and the verification of the social security status during inspections. It should improve and facilitate existing procedures like prior notification for posting or the confirmation of the social security affiliation of a worker. The digitalisation of these procedures should make them more secure, fraud-proof, and easy to apply.
EFBWW and FIEC call on the Commission to share more information about the ESSP pilot project and to directly involve in its assessment the social partners on national and European level, to jointly identify the most appropriate ways forward, taking into account the specificities of the construction sector.
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