European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA)

The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted the report by Czesław HOC (ECR, PL) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), and repealing Council Regulation (EC) 2062/94.

The committee recommended that the European Parliament’s position adopted at first reading in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the Commission proposal as follows.

Objective and tasks of the Agency: the tripartite Agency should collect and analyse technical, scientific and economic information on safety and physical and mental health at work and workplace inclusion.

However, the Agency should not only analyse or provide information but use these findings and information to provide policy-makers, including the social partners, with research-based policy proposals in the field of health and safety of workers.

The Agency shall also:

• establish a strategy for relations with third countries and international organisations concerning matters for which the Agency is competent;
• establish a communications strategy which is coherent with and relevant to the strategies and activities of the Commission and those of the other institutions and agencies.

In addition, the Agency shall cooperate with other Union tripartite agencies in order to avoid overlaps and to promote synergy between their activities, including the possibility of working jointly, in particular with the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) and, where appropriate, with other Union agencies.

Management Board: this shall include the participation of three independent experts appointed by the European Parliament after verifying that the appointments raise no conflicts of interest.

Members representing the Government, employers’ organisations and employees’ organisations shall be appointed by the Council from among the members and alternate members of the Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work, on the basis of the lists of candidates submitted by the Member States, employers’ organisations and European employees’ organisations respectively.

When appointing their respective representatives and alternates to the Management Board, the European Parliament, the Commission, the Member States and the social partners shall ensure a balanced representation of men and women. In additions, each member and alternate member shall sign a written declaration of interests when taking office. The declarations of interest shall be published on the Agency’s website.

A representative of Eurofound, a representative of Cedefop and a representative of the European Training Foundation shall have observer status at meetings of the Management Board in order to enhance the efficiency of the agencies and the synergies between them.

The Management Board shall, inter alia:

• give the strategic orientations for the Agency's activities, coherent with the needs of its main stakeholders;
• adopt rules, including measures for detecting potential risks at an early stage, for the prevention and management of conflicts of interest in respect of its members and independent experts, as well as for seconded national experts.

Annual and multi-annual programming: the annual work programme shall comprise detailed objectives and expected results, including performance indicators, as well as activities and programmes that are to be subject to ex-ante or ex-post evaluations.

Executive Director: the Executive Director shall be responsible for the overall management of the Agency in accordance with the strategic direction set out by the Management Board.

The Executive Director shall also be responsible for:

• establishing an effective monitoring system to enable the regular evaluations referred to in Article 28 to be carried out and a reporting system to summarise their results;
• ensuring gender balance within the Agency;
• taking decisions with regard to the management of human resources;
• taking decisions with regard to the Agency's internal structures and, where necessary, their amendment, taking into account needs relating to the Agency's activities and sound budgetary management;
• establishing an office in Brussels as a liaison office to further the Agency's cooperation with the relevant Union institutions.

Once appointed, the Executive Director shall attend a hearing at the responsible committee of the European Parliament.

Budget: in order to ensure its full autonomy and independence, Members suggested that EU-OSHA should be granted an adequate and autonomous budget with revenue stemming essentially from a contribution from the general budget of the Union. The Agency’s budget should be prepared in accordance with the principle of performance-based budgeting taking into account its objectives and expected results. EU-OSHA’s accounts should be audited by the European Court of Auditors.