Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Whereas:

Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services^f1, and in particular Article 4 thereof, imposes clear obligations as regards cooperation between national administrations, and makes it the responsibility of the Member States to create the necessary conditions for such cooperation. This Directive furthermore sets out a clear obligation for the Member States to take the appropriate measures to make the information on the terms and conditions of employment generally available, not only to foreign service providers, but also to the posted workers concerned.

In its Communication to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions ‘Posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services: maximising its benefits and potential while guaranteeing the protection of workers’^f2 of 13 June 2007, the Commission announced its intention to set up a high level Committee in order to support and assist the Member States in identifying and exchanging good practices, to institutionalise the current informal Group of Government Experts and to formally involve social partners regularly.

In its Recommendation of 3 April 2008 on enhanced administrative cooperation in the context of posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services^f3, the Commission indicated that the Member States should participate actively in a systematic and formal process of identification and exchange of good practices in the field of posting of workers through any forum of cooperation established by the Commission to that end.

The Council conclusions of 9 June 2008 invited the Commission to institutionalise the informal group on the posting of workers by setting up a committee of experts.

The Committee to be set up should, according to the same Council conclusions, engage with the public bodies responsible for control, such as labour inspectorates, as well as, at appropriate levels and in accordance with national law and practice, formally and regularly involve the social partners, in particular representatives of the social partners in sectors with a high incidence of recourse to posted workers.

It is therefore necessary to set up a Committee of experts in the field of posting of workers and to define its tasks, responsibilities and structure.

The Committee of experts should, inter alia, support and assist Member States in identifying and exchanging experience and good practice, promote the exchange of relevant information, examine any questions and difficulties which might arise in the practical application of the posting of workers legislation, as well as its enforcement in practice, and closely follow the progress achieved in improving both access to information and administrative cooperation, including the development of a possible electronic information exchange system.

The Committee should be composed of experts representing the national authorities, which in each Member State, are responsible for, in charge of, or involved in the implementation, application and monitoring of the rules applicable to the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services. Such experts should be able to reflect the full range of knowledge, competences and experience across the different policy areas concerned. In accordance with national law and practice, specialised bodies responsible for the control of legislation, such as labour inspectorates, as well as social partners, could be represented in the Committee.

The Committee should also formally and regularly involve the social partners at European level, in particular those representing sectors with a higher incidence of recourse to posted workers, such as construction, temporary agency work, catering, agriculture and transport. It should also be able to rely on the expertise of professionals with specific competences on a particular matter included as an item of its agenda.

Representatives of the EEA/EFTA States, the EFTA Surveillance authority, accession and candidate countries and Switzerland should be permitted to participate as observers.

Rules on disclosure of information by members should be provided for, without prejudice to the Commission’s rules on security as set out in the Annex to Commission Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom^f4.

Personal data relating to members should be processed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data^f5.

The expenses occurred should be financed under Decision No 1672/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2006 establishing a Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity — Progress^f6,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: