The Council of the European Union has adopted its negotiating position on a new regulation aimed at simplifying the administrative process for the posting of workers within the EU.
The proposed changes are part of broader efforts to improve labour mobility and reduce regulatory burdens for companies operating across borders.
The key element of the proposal is the introduction of a fully digital declaration system, designed to replace the varied and often cumbersome national procedures that currently exist. Under the new framework, service providers will be able to submit worker posting declaration through a single, public online interface. The platform will allow for the uploading of required documents, automated validation of submissions, and secure communication between businesses and national authorities. Posted workers will also be able to access their own declaration data through the system.
In adopting this position, the Council has agreed to harmonise the type of information required across participating Member States. While countries that join the digital system will not be permitted to impose additional administrative requirements beyond the standard form, they will retain the right to request further information during inspections, in accordance with EU law.
The proposal also includes provisions to ensure strong data protection standards, including a general retention limit of 36 months, with exceptions allowed under national law. It also specifically address how data related to workers’ representatives should be handled, due to its sensitive nature.
The Council’s position calls for a review of the system 5 years after its implementation. This review will assess whether declarations involving third-country nationals should be integrated into the platform and whether it would be feasible to align the posting declaration with the social security-related A1 form (The A1 form confirms that a worker remains under their home country’s social security system while working abroad temporarily, helping them avoid paying social security in both countries).
According to impact assessments, the use of a harmonized digital declaration could reduce administrative burden by up to 58 percent. If all 27 Member States opt into the system, efficiency gains could rise to as much as 81 percent.
With the Council’s general approach now in place, negotiations with European Parliament can begin once the Parliament adopts its own position. The outcome of these negotiations will determine the final shape of the regulation, which is expected to significantly modernize and simplify the posting of workers within the EU’s internal market.
She is a Legal Counsel and she holds a Ph.D in Law (University of Bologna). She is specialized in European Union Law and she is the Head of the Japanese Desk and Spanish Desk. She is mother tongue Japanese and Spanish and speaks fluently Italian and English.
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