Provisional agreement reached on the electronic declaration of posted workers.

Companies will in future be able to notify the posting of workers within the European Union through a single European platform.

The Committee of Permanent Representatives endorsed the provisional agreement on the introduction of an electronic declaration of posted workers (e-Declaration) on 30 June. The agreement is based on a Regulation proposed by the European Commission in November 2024. Its objective is to simplify and harmonise the currently fragmented national notification procedures across the European Union. This is intended to reduce the administrative burden for companies operating across borders, improve cooperation between competent authorities and strengthen the Single Market. The agreement was endorsed by the Member States’ ambassadors on 30 June and now requires formal adoption by both the European Parliament and the Council. 

A central EU platform for posting declarations

The cornerstone of the Regulation is a multilingual public online interface connected to the Internal Market Information System (IMI). Companies will be able to submit posting declarations electronically through a single EU portal. Participation in the system, however, will remain voluntary for Member States. Where a Member State chooses to use the platform, it will replace its existing national notification procedure.

The regulation also introduces a standardised electronic declaration form containing a mandatory list of permitted data fields. While participating Member States may waive certain information requirements, they will not be allowed to request additional information beyond the common list. The aim is to harmonise the currently diverse national notification systems and reduce the administrative burden, particularly for companies posting workers to several Member States.

During the negotiations, the scope of the required information was expanded compared with the Commission’s original proposal. In the future, declarations will also include, among other things, the planned duration of the posting, the expected hourly wage, the involvement of temporary work agencies or recruitment intermediaries, and—where relevant—information on third-country nationals and their residence status.

Beyond the declaration itself, the platform will provide several additional digital functions. Companies will be able to upload supporting documents, reuse previously submitted information for future postings and communicate electronically with the competent authorities. Posted workers will also receive an electronic extract of their posting declaration.

Relevance for social security

From the perspective of social security institutions, one particularly important aspect is the possible future linkage between the electronic Declaration of Posting and the procedure for applying for an A1 certificate. The labour law declaration of posting and the A1 procedure for social security coordination serve different purposes, involve different authorities and are based on separate legal frameworks. The Regulation explicitly does not amend the existing rules on the coordination of social security systems. However, the European Commission is required to assess whether both procedures could in future be more closely linked from a technical perspective and whether data could be reused across the two systems. Such an approach could eliminate duplicate reporting obligations for businesses and further advance the digitalisation of cross-border administrative procedures. For social security institutions, however, this would require substantial adjustments to their IT systems and administrative processes.

Although the Regulation does not directly affect the coordination of social security systems, a more structured and harmonised data framework could facilitate cooperation between competent authorities. This could support social security institutions, particularly in preventing abuse and combating fraud.

The European Labour Authority (ELA) will also receive statistical data generated through the platform. These data are intended to improve the analysis of labour mobility within the European Union and enable the earlier identification of cross-border risks. Given the planned revision of the ELA’s mandate as part of the forthcoming Fair Labour Mobility Package, this aspect is expected to gain further importance.

Next steps

Following the endorsement of the provisional trilogue agreement by the European Parliament’s Committees on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) and Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) on 14 July, the next steps are formal adoption by the Parliament in plenary and approval by the Council of Ministers.

The plenary vote is currently expected to take place in September 2026. The regulation will enter into force three months after its publication in the Official Journal of the EuropeanUnion. However, the platform will only become operational once it has been technically implemented by the European Commission and participating Member States have decided to join the system.