From Tuesday 19 to Wednesday 20 April 2016, Nicolas Schmit and Romain Schneider were in Amsterdan to attend the informal meeting of EU Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs.
Issues addressed included aspects related to the mobility of workers, the proposal for the European core of social rights - one of the central subjects of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2015 - and priorities of the platform against undeclared work.
"Worker mobility has become a very sensitive issue in the EU," Luxembourg Minister of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy, Nicolas Schmit, commented during the debate. "We need to further mobilise ourselves to combat the abuse and fraud that affect both businesses and workers and which endanger confidence in the European project."
Romain Schneider, Minister of Social Security for Luxembourg, equally stated: "We reiterate that the assessment of Member States' performances in social and employment terms, and the implementation of structural reforms at the national levels, should be part of a framework of common social values, while taking into account national specifities, serve as a compass to avoid a downward spiral."
The informal meeting was held under the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the EU, which has listed one of its priorities as decent working conditions and terms of employment, combatting the exploitation of and unfair competition among mobile workers with a focus on "equal pay for equal work in the same workplace".
Ahead of the meeting, Minister Schmit chaired a meeting of socialist and social democrat Ministers of Labour and Employment in his capacity as president of ministers members of PES.
Photos by eu2016nl/Valerie Kuypers
