European Platform to enhance cooperation in tackling undeclared work

The Council agreed a general approach on a decision establishing a Platform to improve cooperation at EU level in order to prevent and deter undeclared work more effectively. This general approach will be the Council's basis for negotiations with the European Parliament.

The general approach set out in the Annex follows the Commission's proposal on the mandatory participation of all Member States in the Platform and a non-exhaustive list of initiatives the Platform can carry out.

At the same time, the draft Decision ensures that the Member States:

• remain competent to decide on their level of involvement in the Platform's initiatives;
• decide what measures to take at national level to give effect to the outcomes of these initiatives, depending on their own priorities and needs in the prevention and deterrence of undeclared work.

The Platform's tasks would include (i) analysing policy measures taken until now; (ii) developing knowledge banks on different measures; (iii) developing tools and handbooks for Member States' cooperation.

The Platform would

• allow the Member States to learn from each other and would also give them the tools to join forces, where necessary, in curbing undeclared work;
• involve the social partners at EU level, both cross-industry and in those sectors more severely affected by undeclared work;
• cooperate with relevant international organisations such as the International Labour Organisation and EU decentralised agencies, in particular Eurofund and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work;
• work on the basis of two-year work programmes, setting out its detailed tasks covering all aspects related to undeclared work such as labour law, labour inspections, health and safety, social security, tax and migration;
• regularly inform the European Parliament and the Council about its activities.

In the absence of the European Parliament's opinion, the Commission maintains its original proposal. It has also expressed a specific reservation on recital 11a(new) of the Council's general approach as it considers that the effective functioning of the Platform could be at risk, if (too many) Member States' involvement in the Platform's initiatives were low or inexistent. While some delegations share this concern, many other delegations stressed that all Member States are supporting the aims of the Platform.