The European Parliament is calling for the mandate to be strengthened and expanded.

On 18 January 2024, the European Parliament adopted a Motion for a resolution to revise the mandate of the European Labour Authority (ELA). The underlying report had already been approved by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) the week before. The ELA was established in 2019 to support European Union (EU) Member States and the European Commission in enforcing EU rules on labour mobility and social security coordination in a fair, simple and effective way.

MEPs call for strengthening of the ELA's competences

In the resolution, MEPs call on the European Commission, as part of its assessment of the ELA's mandate and operational capacity, to make a proposal for a revision of the Founding regulation of the ELA - Regulation (EU) 2019/1149 - which strengthens the powers and competences of the ELA, thus its added value for national authorities. For example, the European Parliament is calling for the ELA to be able to investigate suspected infringements in cross-border cases on its own initiative and to be able to initiate and carry out checks.

Extension of the mandate to third-country nationals

Furthermore, MEPs note that the ELA's remit should be extended to workers from third countries.  The authority is often confronted with problems in connection with the working conditions of third-country nationals and should therefore also be given powers to act. The European Parliament also calls for better support for Member States in the application of relevant Union law and for inclusion of sector-specific legislation on labour law in the mandate in connection with labour mobility, for example in the transport or construction sectors.

The resolution further states that the ELA also requires sufficient resources, including its own staff, to be able to carry out its tasks, in particular to carry out on-site inspections to detect violations of labour law. Currently, a large part of the staff consists of seconded national experts (SNE), which, in view of the time limit, could contribute to institutional incoherence in the medium to long term, jeopardise operational continuity and lead to difficulties in carrying out the ELA's core tasks. A sufficient number of SNE positions must therefore be converted into permanent posts.

Evaluation of the ELA until August 2024

According to Article 40 of the ELA's founding regulation, the European Commission is obliged to submit an evaluation of the agency's performance by 1 August 2024. In addition to the resolution of the European Parliament, the results of a Conference of the Belgian EU Council Presidency on the role of the ELA on 25 January 2024 will also be included in this assessment.