European Commission proposes Fair Labour Mobility package to strengthen social rights and the recognition of qualifications across the EU 

With its Fair Labour Mobility package, the European Commission seeks to guarantee clear social rights for all workers, throughout the European Union, irrespective of the Member State in which they choose to reside and work. The package addresses three recurring obstacles to cross-border mobility. Firstly, how can workers prove and claim their social security and health insurance rights in another Member State? Secondly, how can qualifications be understood throughout the EU and formally recognised where the profession is regulated? Thirdly, how can national authorities cooperate more efficiently to enforce workers’ rights and combat fraud? 

The package comprises a Communication on fair labour mobility and five legislative proposals: 

• a proposal for a Regulation establishing a European Social Security Pass (“ESSPASS”); 
• a proposal for a Regulation on digital and comparable qualifications, referred to as the “Skills Portability Act”; 
• a proposal for a Regulation strengthening the European Labour Authority (“ELA”); 
• a proposal for a Directive amending the rules on professional qualifications; and 
• a proposal for a Directive on the qualifications of third-country nationals. 

According to the Commission, once fully implemented, the package will generate an estimated EUR 6 billion in benefits by 2040. 

Background 

In 2024, 14 million EU citizens resided in another Member State, including more than 10 million persons of working age, representing 3.9% of the EU working-age population. At the same time, 18% of respondents in a recent Eurobarometer survey indicated that they would like to work abroad. 

At the March EU summit, the European Council called for measures to enhance worker mobility by improving the mutual recognition of professional qualifications and strengthening the portability of skills, including through digitalisation. The package responds to that call and delivers on the “One Europe, One Market” roadmap, which identified the Fair Labour Mobility package and the skills portability initiative as priority deliverables for a more integrated Single Market. 

Social security documents go digital with the European Social Security Pass 

ESSPASS will enable individuals to request and obtain social security documents entirely online, including the European Health Insurance Card and the portable document A1 for posted workers. Through the EU Digital Identity Wallet, persons moving to another Member State will be able to store and present these documents digitally, while competent administrations will be able to verify them rapidly and securely. 

According to the Commission’s estimates, over a twelve-year period, digitalisation could generate savings of up to EUR 64 million for undertakings, EUR 69 million for healthcare providers and EUR 72 million for labour inspectorates through faster cross-border verification. The use of digital signatures could moreover prevent up to EUR 277 million in fraud over the same period. 

Qualifications become digital, comparable and faster to recognise 

Under the Skills Portability Act, qualifications will be issued in a standardised digital format and made available in the EU Digital Identity Wallet, thereby facilitating the verification of their authenticity. A new EU qualifications comparison tool, drawing on national qualifications databases, will provide employers and workers with a simple and free means of understanding and comparing qualifications across Member States. 

The amending Directive on professional qualifications introduces a mandatory digital procedure for the cross-border recognition of qualifications of regulated professionals, such as doctors, nurses, engineers and teachers. Recognition is to become faster (five weeks instead of three months), less costly and more secure, while maintaining a high level of public safety, consumer protection and professional standards. 

In addition, automatic recognition will be extended to further regulated professions by means of common training frameworks, with priority given to professions facing shortages, on the basis of a preliminary list of ten additional professions. The Commission has already adopted the first such framework, for physiotherapists, one of the most mobile professions in the EU. 

Common standards for qualifications obtained outside the EU 

The proposed Directive on the qualifications of third-country nationals lays down common standards for the recognition of qualifications obtained outside the EU, both for EU citizens and for third-country professionals working in the Single Market or applying from a third country. Such procedures currently take 14 months on average. The common standards are intended to reduce this to 4 months and to reduce employers’ administrative recruitment costs by as much as half. 

For seven professions already subject to EU-wide training standards, qualifications issued by accredited institutions outside the EU and reviewed by European quality assurance bodies will be recognised automatically. Member States nevertheless retain full control over the admission of persons to their territory and over the standards required to practise a profession. 

A stronger European Labour Authority to support enforcement 

The proposed Regulation equips ELA with enhanced tools to assist Member States in enforcing EU law. ELA will be able to improve its risk assessment capacity in order to help national inspectorates target their inspections more effectively. Cross-border cooperation and expertise will be reinforced through dedicated national inspection liaison officers. ELA will also award grants to organisations assisting persons working in another Member State, as well as employers providing services or recruiting across borders. 

The proposal further extends ELA’s mandate to tackling abuses against third-country nationals working in the EU and combating illegal employment. It also simplifies ELA’s mediation procedure, enabling Member States to resolve cross-border disputes more swiftly and without recourse to litigation, thereby reducing costs and legal uncertainty. 

Next steps 

The measures concerned are, at this stage, legislative proposals. They will only produce practical effects once they have been adopted by the European Parliament and the Council and the main measures have entered into force. Implementation will moreover be phased in. 

Social security documents will be digitalised in stages, starting with the portable document A1 for posted workers one year after the entry into force of the ESSPASS Regulation, followed by the European Health Insurance Card and other documents within three years. The simplified recognition of qualifications obtained outside the EU is to apply within two years of adoption, while digital qualifications in the EU, Digital Identity Wallet and facilitated recognition for regulated professions are to follow within three years. Once its revised mandate has been adopted, ELA may begin implementing the changes, with improvements expected over the period 2028–2030. 

What does this mean for employers? 

The package offers three useful points of attention. 

Firstly, employers posting workers to other Member States will be able to request and present the portable document A1 digitally. This is expected to reduce administrative formalities and facilitate verification during cross-border inspections. 

Secondly, employers recruiting from other Member States or from third countries may benefit from considerably faster and less costly recognition procedures, as well as from a free tool to compare qualifications across Member States. Member States will, however, retain control over the admission of third-country nationals and over the standards required to practise a regulated profession. 

Thirdly, a strengthened ELA, better risk-based targeting of inspections and closer cooperation between national inspectorates are likely to increase the scrutiny of cross-border employment. Employers are therefore well advised to ensure that their posting and recruitment practices comply with the applicable rules and to monitor the legislative process closely. 

Do you have questions about the Fair Labour Mobility package, the posting of workers or the recognition of qualifications? Please do not hesitate to contact our office. We would be pleased to advise you on the impact of these proposals on your organisation. 

The package: European Commission, Fair Labour Mobility package, available on employment-social-affairs.ec.europa.eu 

Expertise: Employment Law