PURPOSE: to update the objectives, tasks and governance of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA).
LEGISLATIVE ACT : Regulation (EU) 2019/126 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) No 2062/94.
CONTENT: since its creation in 1994, EU-OSHA has played an important role in supporting the improvement of occupational safety and health throughout the Union. The new Regulation updates the objectives, tasks and structures of the Agency in the light of developments in the field of occupational health and safety, as well as technological developments.
Objectives and tasks
EU-OSHA shall provide the Union institutions and bodies, the Member States, the social partners and other actors involved in the field of safety and health at work with relevant technical, scientific and economic information and qualified expertise in that field in order to improve the working environment as regards the protection of the safety and health of workers.
To that end, EU-OSHA shall enhance and disseminate knowledge, provide evidence and services for the purpose of policy making, including research-based conclusions, and shall facilitate knowledge sharing among and between Union and national actors.
The Agency will: (i) collect and analyse technical, scientific and economic information on safety and health at work in the Member States; (ii) provide forums for exchange of experiences and information between the governments, the social partners and other stakeholders at national level; (iii) contribute to the development of Union strategies and action programmes relating to the protection of safety and health at work; (iv) establish a strategy for relations with third countries and (v) carry out awareness raising and communication activities and campaigns.
EU-OSHA shall have its seat in Bilbao.
Administrative and management structure
This will be comprised of:
- a Management Board composed of: (i) for each Member State, one member representing the Government, one member representing the employers 'organisations and one member representing the workers' organisations; (ii) three members representing the Commission and (iii) an independent expert appointed by the European Parliament;
- an Executive Board tasked with preparing meetings of the Management Board to prepare board meetings and supporting its decision-making and monitoring processes; it may take certain provisional decisions on behalf of the Management Board for reasons of urgency;
- an Executive Director, responsible for the overall management of the Agency in accordance with the strategic direction set by the Management, including the day-to-day administration and the management of financial and human resources. He shall report to the European Parliament on the performance of his duties when he is invited to do so;
- a Network comprising (i) the main components of the national information networks, including the national employers' and employees' organisations, in accordance with national law or practice; (ii) the national focal points.
Members of the Management Board and their alternates shall be designated and appointed on the basis of their knowledge in the field of safety and health at work, and aim to ensure a balanced representation of women and men. Each member, at the time of taking office, must sign a written declaration certifying that he is not in a situation of a conflict of interests.
Programming
Each year, the Management Board shall approve a programming document containing a multiannual and an annual work programme, on the basis of a draft drawn up by the Executive Director, taking into account the opinion of the Commission. The programming document will become definitive after the final adoption of the general budget of the Union.
Budget
In order to ensure its full autonomy and independence and to enable it properly to carry out its objectives and tasks, EU-OSHA will be granted an adequate and autonomous budget with revenue stemming mainly from a contribution from the general budget of the Union. The Court of Auditors will audit EU-OSHA’s accounts.
EU-OSHA's work should complement those of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) and the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) when they have similar fields of interest while favouring tools that work well, such as memoranda of understanding.
ENTRY INTO FORCE : 20.2.2019.