EU: What to Expect from the New EU Commission for EU Employment Law
Ursula von der Leyen, who was re-elected as President of the EU Commission by the European Parliament on July 27 this year and has presented her selection for the appointment of the new Commissioners on 17 September. Below, we look at the impact of her pick for European social and employment law and plans for the coming years.
- The “Employment” Commissioner: Roxana Mînzatu
The 44-year-old Romanian, Roxana Mînzatu has been entrusted with the role of Executive Vice-President for People, Skills, and Preparedness while also bearing the responsibility for quality jobs.
Roxana Mînzatu has been a member of the Social Democratic Party since her days at the University of Bucharest, before moving on to becoming a member of her local Brasov district council from 2004-2008 and again in 2011 and 2012. Prior to becoming the state secretary in the Ministry of European Funds in 2015, Mînzatu moved away from politics for a short while to become the executive manager of the Brasov Branch of the Romanian Business School. In 2016, Roxana Mînzatu became a member of the Romanian Parliament as a social democrat, representing her native county Brasov, where she became the secretary of the Committee for Industries and Services and a member of the Committee for European Affairs. For the next four years, she worked on topics important to her, such as aid schemes for start-ups, equal access to education, women’s and children’s rights, and infrastructure projects. In May 2019, she reached the peak of her political career in Romania by becoming the Minister of European Funds under prime minister Viorica Dăncilă, but only lasting half a year as the government was ousted following a vote of no confidence.
Subsequently, Roxana Mînzatu founded a consultancy and training start up called Ro Agora but returned to politics at the request of her party and served as Secretary of State from January 2022 until July 2024, coordinating the Department for Integrated Evaluation and Monitoring of Public Funded Programs. Mînzatu became a Member of the European Parliament in the recent election.
- A downgrade for the post?
Roxana Mînzatu seems to have the right general political experience and qualifications for the position of Commissioner. However, we fail to discover a clear link in her previous roles with this particular post (relating to employment, jobs, social affairs, etc.). Furthermore, there might be some backlash. Less than 24 hours after workers marched to European institutions to demand action to protect jobs, the European Commission announced plans to downgrade the importance of its Jobs and Social Rights portfolio. For close to half a century, every European Commission has included a Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs. In 2019, Nicolas Schmit’s competence slightly changed, as it turned into “Jobs and Social Rights.” With this new plan, this post would now be adapted and become a part of the portfolio for People, Skills, and Preparedness. It becomes more and more difficult to see the direct link with employment.
- The Mission letter
In Ursula von der Leyen’s mission letter to Roxana Mînzatu, her role is clarified as she asks for the following:
- A new action plan on the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights should be presented in 2025;
- To develop a Quality Jobs Roadmap with the social partners to support fair wages, high standards for health and safety, good working conditions, and fair job transitions for workers and self-employed by increasing collective bargaining coverage;
- To deliver a new Pact for European Social Dialogue in early 2025, together with employers and European trade unions;
- To focus on the impact of digitalisation in the world of work and introducing a right to disconnect;
- To improve Europe’s occupational health and safety and address long-term care workforce challenges, including but not limited to improving supporting skilling and career progression and improving working conditions;
- To facilitate labour mobility, whilst ensuring that these rules are properly enforced with the support of a strong and empowered European Labour Authority;
- To contribute to efforts on legal migration to help attract people with the right skills to match the needs of the EU labour market; and
- To work on the first EU Antipoverty strategy, develop an EU Teachers Agenda and a Strategy for Vocational Education and Training, contribute to European Affordable Housing Plan, work on the European Education Area and strengthening Erasmus+, and launch a European Schools Alliance.
These tasks clarify the Commission’s priorities and indicate the future EU legislation that we can expect. Interestingly, the recast of the European Works Council Directive is not explicitly mentioned.
- Conclusion
Ultimately, the switch from Nicolas Schmit to Roxana Mînzatu and the new title might indicate that the Commission places less importance on the world of labour than previously, while still maintaining von der Leyen’s goal of strengthening the European Pillar of Social Rights. However, the fact that Mînzatu is appointed as one of the five Executive Vice-Presidents of the EU Commission also delivers a counter indication.
Mînzatu will now have to survive the hearing by the EU Parliament before being confirmed as Commissioner. The confirmation is assumed to take place before 1 December 2024.
More info: Mission letter to Roxana Mînzatu
