European manufacturers are supposed to do business freely within the European Union’s single market, but in reality, companies face considerable restraints when sending employees abroad. Despite the existence of a single EU Posted Workers Directive, a patchwork of national reporting and registration obligations still hinders cross border trade. This poses a burden especially for small- and medium-sized companies with limited resources.
In the revision of the Posting of Workers Directive, the European Union mainly focused on the prevention of social dumping. But companies now call for a truly European solution for the posting of workers concerning the enforcement of the Directive. For their business, barriers to high-skilled labour mobility poses a threat not only with respect to services, but also regarding the trade of goods in the single market.
EURACTIV organised a workshop to discuss existing barriers to the mobility of high-skilled labour in the European Union - and how to remove them.
Questions included:
- What are the effects for companies dealing with multiple national reporting schemes?
- How can the EU prevent social dumping without hindering free movement of high-skilled workers?
- What are the Commission’s plans to facilitate the posting of workers in the future?
- What are possible steps to reduce bureaucracy for the posting of workers?
- What are examples of best practice regarding notification systems in Member States?
