EU ministers for employment and social affairs discuss high-quality jobs and social policy challenges.

EU member states are divided on how to promote high-quality and secure jobs in Europe in the future. At the meeting of European Ministers for employment and social affairs on October 19 in Luxembourg, differing views emerged – particularly regarding the planned European Quality Jobs Act – on whether additional EU regulations are necessary or whether existing regulations should be better implemented.

In addition, the Council addressed employment and social policy challenges within the framework of the European Semester, as well as the importance of gender equality for European competitiveness. The planned EU strategy to combat poverty and the implementation of the European Disability Card were also discussed.

Quality Jobs Act: Disagreement Over Additional Regulation

There was broad agreement on the European Commission’s goal of promoting high-quality and secure jobs in Europe. However, there were differing views on how to achieve this.

While Spain, Romania, and Bulgaria, in particular, advocated for new legislative measures, Finland, Estonia, and France, among others, favoured existing regulations and flexible solutions. Denmark and Sweden expressed fundamental reservations about the proposed legislation.

Particularly contentious topics included the use of artificial intelligence and the algorithmic control of work processes, the right to be unreachable, and the regulation of subcontracting chains. France advocated first evaluating the existing provisions of the AI Act, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the Platform Work Directive before creating additional regulations.

Germany emphasized the need to balance social justice and competitiveness without placing an unnecessary burden on businesses. Existing occupational safety and health regulations must be adapted to the requirements of the digital workplace and revised.

The Commission’s Executive Vice President responsible for this area, Roxana Mînzatu, stood by the proposal. Enforcing existing regulations alone is not enough. Rather, targeted improvements to the European legal framework are necessary.

European Semester: Focus on quality of employment and social protection

As part of the European Semester, the Council endorsed the key messages from the Employment Committee (EMCO) and the Social Protection Committee (SPC) regarding the key employment and social policy challenges for 2026 and 2027.

Despite an overall positive trend in the European labour market, structural problems persist. In light of demographic change and weak productivity growth, the existing labour force potential must be better utilized. Above all, however, high-quality employment, adequate working conditions, and investment in skills are crucial.

The Social Protection Committee highlighted, in particular, ongoing challenges in combating child poverty, ensuring adequate pensions, and providing long-term care. It also identified the gender pension gap and access to adequate social protection for people in atypical employment relationships or with interrupted employment histories as further challenges.

Gender Equality as a factor in competitiveness

In addition, the Council adopted conclusions on the importance of gender equality for economic growth and competitiveness. In them, it calls on Member States to remove barriers to labour force participation and to reduce existing wage and pension gaps between women and men.

The Commission was also called upon to present a European Care Deal that takes into account both paid and unpaid care work. The impact of artificial intelligence on gender equality in the labour market is also to be monitored more closely in the future.

The conclusions are not legally binding but are intended to provide political impetus for further European employment and social policy.

Combating poverty: Strengthening employment and social inclusion

The ministers also exchanged views on the EU Strategy for Combating Poverty. The discussion focused on how to better integrate people who have so far been excluded from the labour market into employment. In addition, the member states discussed measures to combat in-work poverty – that is, the risk of living in poverty despite being employed.

European Disability Card: Council discusses technical specifications

At the initiative of Italy, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Slovakia, the Council addressed technical challenges in implementing the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for People with Disabilities. Several member states proposed, among other things, more flexible requirements for QR codes and card formats, as well as simplifications regarding the labelling of care facilities.

However, the European Commission did not indicate any plans to amend the delegated act on technical specifications adopted on July 1.