A Platform, at Union level, to enhance cooperation between Member States in tackling undeclared work (‘the Platform’) is hereby established.
For the purpose of this Decision, ‘tackling’, in relation to undeclared work, means preventing, deterring and combating undeclared work as well as promoting the declaration of undeclared work.
Article 2 -
Composition of the Platform
1. The Platform shall be composed of:
(a)
a senior representative appointed by each Member State to represent that Member State;
(b)
a representative of the Commission;
(c)
a maximum of four representatives of cross-industry social partners at Union level, appointed by those social partners, equally representing both sides of industry.
2. The following may attend the meetings of the Platform as observers and their contributions shall be taken into due consideration in accordance with its rules of procedure:
(a)
a maximum of 14 representatives of the social partners in sectors with a high incidence of undeclared work, appointed by those social partners, equally representing both sides of industry;
(b)
a representative of Eurofound;
(c)
a representative of EU-OSHA;
(d)
a representative of the ILO;
(e)
a representative of each third country in the European Economic Area.
Observers other than those referred to in the first subparagraph may be invited to attend the meetings of the Platform and their contributions shall be taken into due consideration in accordance with its rules of procedure, depending on the subject that is to be discussed.
Article 3 -
National measures
This Decision is without prejudice to the competence of Member States to decide on the measures to take at national level to tackle undeclared work.
Article 4 -
Objectives
The defining purpose of the Platform shall be to provide input with added value at Union level in order to contribute to tackling the complex problem of undeclared work, while fully respecting national competences and procedures.
The Platform shall contribute to more effective Union and national actions aiming to improve working conditions, promote integration in the labour market and social inclusion, including better enforcement of law within those fields, and to the reduction of undeclared work and the emergence of formal jobs, thus avoiding the deterioration of the quality of work and of health and safety at work, by:
(a)
enhancing cooperation between Member States' relevant authorities and other actors involved in order to tackle more efficiently and effectively undeclared work in its various forms and falsely declared work associated with it, including bogus self-employment;
(b)
improving the capacity of Member States' different relevant authorities and actors to tackle undeclared work with regard to its cross-border aspects, and in this way contributing to a level playing field;
(c)
increasing public awareness of issues relating to undeclared work and of the urgent need for appropriate action as well as encouraging Member States to step up their efforts to tackle undeclared work.
CHAPTER II - MISSION AND ACTIVITIES
Article 5 -
Mission
To achieve the objectives listed in Article 4, the Platform at Union level shall encourage cooperation between Member States through:
(a)
exchanging best practices and information;
(b)
developing expertise and analysis;
(c)
encouraging and facilitating innovative approaches to effective and efficient cross-border cooperation and evaluating experiences;
(d)
contributing to a horizontal understanding of matters relating to undeclared work.
Article 6 -
Activities
1. In executing its mission, the Platform shall, in particular, carry out the following activities:
(a)
improving the knowledge of undeclared work, also with regard to causes and regional differences, by means of shared definitions and common concepts, evidence-based measurement tools and promotion of comparative analysis and relevant methodological instruments for data collection, building on the work of other actors, including the Employment Committee (EMCO) and the Social Protection Committee (SPC);
(b)
improving the knowledge and mutual understanding of different systems and practices to tackle undeclared work, including the cross-border aspects thereof;
(c)
developing analyses of the effectiveness of different policy measures to tackle undeclared work, including preventive measures and penalties;
(d)
establishing tools for efficient sharing of information and experiences, for instance a knowledge bank of different practices and measures taken, including bilateral or multilateral agreements applied in the Member States to tackle undeclared work;
(e)
developing tools, such as guidelines for enforcement, handbooks of good practices and shared principles of inspections to tackle undeclared work and evaluating experiences of such tools;
(f)
facilitating and supporting different forms of cooperation between Member States by increasing their capacity to tackle cross-border aspects of undeclared work by promoting and facilitating innovative approaches, such as the exchange of staff, use of databases in accordance with applicable national data protection law, and joint activities, and evaluating experiences of such cooperation undertaken by participating Member States;
(g)
examining the feasibility of a system of rapid information exchange and improving data sharing in compliance with the Union data protection rules, including exploring possibilities to use the Internal Market Information System (IMI) established by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7) and the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (EESSI);
(h)
exchanging national authorities' experiences in applying Union law that is relevant to tackling undeclared work;
(i)
developing and, where appropriate, improving training capacity for relevant authorities and developing a framework for carrying out joint training;
(j)
organising peer reviews to follow progress in tackling undeclared work in Member States choosing to participate in such reviews;
(k)
exchanging experiences and developing best practices with regard to cooperation between the relevant authorities of Member States and, where relevant, third countries, in order to increase the efficiency of such cooperation in tackling problems relating to undeclared work involving those countries;
(l)
increasing awareness of the problem of undeclared work by carrying out common activities such as European campaigns and coordinating regional or Union-wide strategies, including sectoral approaches;
(m)
exchanging experiences with regard to counselling and information provided to workers affected by practices of undeclared work.
2. In carrying out the activities referred to in paragraph 1, the Platform shall make use of all relevant sources of information, including studies and multilateral cooperation projects, and take into account relevant Union instruments and structures, as well as experience of relevant bilateral agreements.
CHAPTER III - FUNCTIONING OF THE PLATFORM
Article 7 -
Senior representatives
1. Each Member State shall appoint a senior representative as a voting member of the Platform.
Each Member State shall ensure that its senior representative has an appropriate mandate to carry out activities of the Platform. Each Member State shall also appoint one alternate, who shall replace their senior representative where necessary, with a right to vote in such cases.
2. In appointing its senior representative and an alternate, each Member State should consider all relevant public authorities, in particular enforcement authorities and other actors involved in accordance with national law and/or practice. They may also, in accordance with national law and/or practice, involve the social partners or other relevant actors.
3. Each senior representative appointed pursuant to this Article shall participate in the plenary meetings of the Platform and, where appropriate, in other activities and working groups of the Platform.
Each senior representative shall provide the Commission with the list and contact details of the relevant authorities and, where applicable, the social partners and other relevant actors, which are involved in the tackling of undeclared work.
Each senior representative shall liaise with all relevant authorities and, where applicable, the social partners and other relevant actors, regarding the activities of the Platform and shall coordinate their participation at the meetings of the Platform and/or their contribution to the activities of the Platform or of its working groups.
Article 8 -
Operation
1. The Platform shall be chaired by the representative of the Commission. The Chair shall be assisted by two Co-Chairs chosen from among the senior representatives.
The Chair and the Co-Chairs shall constitute the Bureau.
The Bureau shall prepare and organise the work of the Platform in conjunction with a Secretariat, which shall function as secretariat to the Platform, including the Bureau and working groups. The Secretariat shall be provided by the Commission.
2. The Platform shall meet at least twice a year.
3. In executing its mission, the Platform shall adopt decisions on:
(a)
its rules of procedure;
(b)
2-year work programmes setting out, inter alia, its priorities and a concrete description of the activities referred to in Article 6;
(c)
reports of the Platform every 2 years;
(d)
the establishment of working groups to examine issues specified in its work programmes including the practical arrangements for those working groups, which are to be dissolved once their mandates are fulfilled.
The Platform shall adopt the decisions referred to in this paragraph by simple majority. The representative of the Commission and the senior representatives shall each have one vote.
4. The Bureau may, where appropriate, invite experts with a specific competence in the subject under discussion on a case-by-case basis to participate in the Platform's or in a working group's deliberations.
5. The Platform shall be assisted by the Secretariat referred to in paragraph 1. The Secretariat shall prepare the meetings of the Platform, the Platform's draft work programmes and draft reports, and shall follow up on the Platform's meetings and the conclusions thereof.
6. The Commission shall regularly inform the European Parliament and the Council about the activities of the Platform, including with regard to joint meetings with expert groups and committees. It shall submit the Platform's work programmes and reports to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.
Article 9 -
Cooperation
1. The Platform shall cooperate effectively and shall avoid duplication of work with other relevant expert groups and committees at Union level whose work has a link with undeclared work, in particular, the Senior Labour Inspectors Committee, the Expert Committee on Posting of Workers, the Administrative Commission for Social Security Coordination, the Public Employment Services Network, EMCO, SPC and the Working Group on Administrative Cooperation in the field of Direct Taxation. The Platform shall invite the representatives of those groups and committees to attend its meetings as observers where appropriate. In the interest of more efficient working and enhanced impact, joint meetings may also be organised.
2. The Platform shall establish appropriate cooperation with Eurofound and EU-OSHA.
Article 10 -
Reimbursement of expenses
The Commission shall reimburse travel and, where appropriate, subsistence expenses for members, alternates, observers and invited experts in connection with the Platform's activities.
The members, alternates, observers and invited experts shall not be remunerated for the services they render.
Article 11 -
Financial support
The global resources for the implementation of this Decision shall be established within the framework of EaSI. The Commission shall manage the financial resources of EaSI that are dedicated to the Platform in a transparent and efficient way.
CHAPTER IV - FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 12 -
Review
By 13 March 2020, the Commission shall, after consulting the Platform, submit a report on the application and the added value of this Decision to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, and shall propose, where appropriate, necessary amendments. The report shall, in particular, assess to what extent the Platform has contributed to the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 4, fulfilled its mission as set out in Article 5, carried out the activities set out in Article 6 and addressed the priorities set out in its work programmes. The Commission shall submit proposals relating to the functioning of the Platform if appropriate.
Article 13 -
Addressees
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Article 14 -
Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
