The Belgian Council Presidency is seeking a new compromise 

During the last meeting of the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) under the Spanish Council Presidency on 22 December, the provisional agreement reached in the trialogue between the negotiators from the Council and the European Parliament about a European law covering platform working did not receive adequate support. France in particular spoke out against the compromise made at this meeting. The wording used in the disputable presumption of employment, which should form the basis for determining the status of platform employees, deviates too far from the Council's position, and it would result in a blanket reclassification that would also include "genuine" self-employed people. France received support from the Baltic States, Italy, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The disputable presumption is at the centre of the discussion

The original European Commission's draft provided for the study into the actual employment status for the disputable presumption to be based on five criteria. The presumption would then be triggered if two of the five criteria were met. The Council raised the threshold to three out of seven criteria, whereas the Parliament's original position was to remove the criteria altogether and focus on the actual working conditions. The provisional agreement no longer refers to the criteria, but to five indicators that are to be based on European Court of Justice case law. The disputable presumption would be triggered if at least two of the indicators are present.

The member states supporting France criticised the wording of the specific criteria in the provisional agreement as being too broad, so that some of them would be systematically met. Furthermore, France pointed out that the role of the responsible national authorities in establishing and triggering the disputable presumption, as provided for in the provisional agreement, did not take national administrative and legal circumstances into consideration. Only the judiciary can reclassify a person as an employee in France.

Parliament shows willingness to negotiate

The European Parliament's chief negotiator, Elisabetta Gualmini (S&D, IT), pointed out the balance of the compromise initially reached and highlighted the importance of the Platform Employment Directive for many workers. The Parliament's aim is still to adopt the directive during this legislative period. MEPs will strive to reach an agreement with the Council right up to the last minute. However, any further negotiations will have tot be based on the provisional political agreement. On the other hand, the French side is calling for discussions to be resumed on a working version that is as close as possible to the Council's general approach.

Belgium seeks a compromise

Finalising the legislative process before the European elections is a top priority for the Belgian Council Presidency. Due to the limited time available for this, the provisional text has to be taken as the basis for further negotiations, even though it is not acceptable in its entirety to the majority of member states. The Belgian Council Presidency has asked the member states to comment on the controversial sections. They relate to the indicators for triggering the disputable presumption, exemptions, the discretion of national authorities in the event of an incorrect classification, the effects of reclassification decisions, the consequences of a lack of or an unsuccessful dispute and the prescriptive nature of the accompanying measures.

Belgium has simultaneously submitted an initial proposal for rewording the indicators on which the legal presumption is based. The first two criteria for determining remuneration and monitoring work performance remain unchanged from the provisional agreement. However, the next three criteria should be defined more narrowly and focus on the question whether a digital working platform restricts the freedom of platform employees to organise their own work. This includes accepting and rejecting jobs, working hours and the possibility of using your own employees or subcontractors. It should also be stated in the considerations that the indicators do not apply to situations in which anyone undertaking platform working is genuinely self-employed.

Time is running out

The Council and Parliament must reach an agreement by the end of February in order to finalise the legislative process before the end of this legislative period.