A4-0168/98

Resolution on the situation of frontier workers in the European Union

The European Parliament,

- having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the EC Treaty, in particular Articles 2, 5, 117, 118, 118a, 118b, 130a and 130b thereof, and the Protocol on Social Policy,

- having regard to petition No 789/95 of 4 July 1995 on the effects of the increase in social security contributions in the Netherlands for Belgian frontier workers, referred to the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs pursuant to the second subparagraph of Rule 157(1) of Parliament's Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the numerous other petitions submitted on the problems of frontier workers and included in the study carried out by the European Parliament ((European Parliament DG4, Frontier workers in the European Union, social affairs series W-16, Luxembourg 1997, 198 pp.)),

- having regard to the Commission's 1994 White Paper 'European Social Policy - A way forward for the Union¨ (COM(94)0333) and its Medium-term Social Action Programme 1995-97,

- having regard to the report of 18 March 1997 of the High-Level Panel on free movement of persons and the Commission's action plan for free movement of workers (COM(97)0586),

- having regard to its resolutions of 16 December 1988 on the problems of frontier workers in the Community ((OJ C 12, 16.1.1989, p. 378.)) and of 9 February 1993 on the Commission communication on the living and working conditions of Community citizens resident in frontier regions, with special reference to frontier workers ((OJ C 72, 15.3.1993, p. 43.)),

- having regard to the proposals for regulations amending Regulation 1408/71 ((OJ C 260, 5.10.1995, p. 13; OJ C 62, 1.3.1996, p. 14; OJ C 68, 8.3.1996, p. 11; OJ C 198, 4.12.1996, p. 5; OJ C 6, 10.1.1998, p. 15.)) and its opinions on these proposals, in particular that of 29 November 1995 ((OJ C 339, 18.12.1995, p.15.)),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A4-0168/98),

A. whereas there are more than 380 000 frontier workers in the EU's internal border regions and in the regions bordering Monaco, Switzerland, San Marino and Andorra,

B. whereas these frontier workers are confronted with a number of problems arising from the large discrepancies between the Member States as regards legislation on social security, taxation and the interaction between the two,

C. whereas such problems form an obstacle to the achievement of free movement of persons, one of the four basic freedoms of the internal market, and to the completion of a European labour market, which is an important objective of the Union,

D. whereas it has repeatedly urged that a solution be sought to a number of these problems at European Union level, inter alia by the amendment of Regulations 1612/68 and 1408/71,

E. whereas it has in the past urged that a directive be enacted concerning compulsory reporting of the effects on border populations of all relevant national legislation; whereas matters covered by European legislation should also be subject to such reporting;

F. whereas provision should be made for social security contributions and personal tax to be paid in one and the same country, while guaranteeing equal treatment for the individuals concerned; whereas, pending the entry into force of a definitive regulation on this matter, the Member States should set up a compensation fund for frontier workers' loss of income as a result of changes to legislation,

G. whereas both the combination of the country-of-residence and country-of-employment principles and the option of choosing either the country-of-residence or country-of-employment principle can cause difficulties, in particular disproportionate income losses, to the frontier workers affected, thereby possibly giving rise to discrimination on grounds of nationality,

H. whereas national legislative initiatives and collective agreements should be subject to scrutiny, including checks on tax liabilities, social security contributions and employment law, in order to identify possible adverse effects on migrant workers, and on frontier workers in particular,

1. Urges the Council to approve the Commission's current proposals for the amendment of Regulation 1408/71 ((concerning the rules on early retirement, extension of the scope of the right of access to health care in the country of work and the rules on unemployment benefits.)) in line with the opinions of the European Parliament; welcomes the Commission proposals on extending the scope of Regulation 1408/71 to include non-EU citizens and its intention to reform and simplify that regulation; calls on the Commission to make additional proposals on the transfer of social security rights in the context of rules governing career breaks, supplementary pensions and non-statutory social security schemes;

2. Calls on the Commission to apply immediately the Memorandum on the implementation of the Recommendation of 21 December 1993 on tax on certain income earned by non-residents in a Member State other than the one in which they are resident ((OJ L 39, 10.2.1994, p. 22.)); calls on the Commission, on the basis of this memorandum, to submit a proposal for a directive on the equal treatment of non-residents in terms of taxation; calls on the Member States, pending the adoption of such a directive, to bring their own tax legislation into line with the case law of the Court of Justice; intends, in so doing, to prevent or reverse de facto discrimination against citizens of another Member State, in particular frontier workers who are put at a disadvantage;

3. Urges the Commission to take the initiative, in line with the findings of the High-Level Panel on free movement of persons, towards eliminating the lack of coherence between tax and social security legislation, particularly for frontier workers, and towards a uniform definition of a frontier worker which applies both to taxation and to social security, thus abolishing the regional criterion;

4. Calls on the Commission in this connection to carry out an evaluation of the effect of double taxation agreements between Member States ; calls for a European convention on the avoidance of double taxation on income and capital within the European Union; urges the Commission in that connection to seek a fair Community solution to problems caused by interaction between tax systems and social security systems as they apply to migrant workers and to frontier workers in particular;

5. Draws the attention of the Member States and the Commission to the precarious situation of frontier workers working in a third country with which there exist neither bilateral agreements nor association agreements on social security with the European Union; calls, consequently, for such situations to be reviewed as soon as possible;

6. Calls on the Commission to undertake research into the advantages and disadvantages of (1) the country-of-residence principle, (2) the country-of-employment principle, (3) combinations of each of these and (4) the option of choosing one or the other, and to submit proposals on the basis of that research;

7. Calls on the Commission to draft a directive, based on Article 49 of the EC Treaty, on the introduction of a 'Europe test', whereby Member States would be required to test in advance new legislation and amendments to existing legislation and collective agreements on social protection, medical expenses, taxation and employment law for their effects on migrant workers and frontier workers in particular; considers that Community legislation, including the European social agreements, must be tested for their cross-border effects;

8. Draws attention to the Commission communication concerning the Development of the Social Dialogue at Community level (COM(96)0448) and to the abovementioned action plan for free movement of workers; supports the proposal submitted in both documents to merge the Advisory Committee on Social Security for Migrant Workers and the Advisory Committee on the Free Movement of Workers to form a single Advisory Committee; supports the Commission's intention to promote cross-border cooperation in border areas and extend such cooperation to cover specific matters - such as social protection and taxation - which are of great importance to border workers; notes, however, that national administrations must also be encouraged to improve their cooperation in order to solve, but in particular to prevent, specific problems affecting frontier workers; considers that they have an important role to play by proposing solutions to the problems which remain in spite of the 'Europe test' ;

9. Calls on the Member States to draw up statutory compensation arrangements on the basis that the Member State which, after a 'Europe test' has been conducted, implements a change to social or tax legislation which puts frontier workers at a disadvantage, must compensate them for loss of income;

10. Calls on the Commission, in consultation and agreement with the Member States and the bodies empowered to implement sickness insurance arrangements, to conduct an experiment in certain border regions offering a free choice of medical services in the country of residence or the country of employment to frontier workers and dependent members of their families, taking account of the recent rulings in the Decker and Kohll cases (C-120/95, C-158/96) on the funding of cross-border health care without prior authorization;

11. Calls for the establishment of national platforms bringing together the two sides of industry and social security and tax administrations in each Member State that can provide advisory and service facilities to migrant workers and to frontier workers in particular, address their problems, propose solutions within the competences of Member States and be responsible for implementing the 'Europe test';

12. Endorses the Commission's intention to promote cross-border cooperation in border regions, and to extend this cooperation to specific areas which are of major importance to frontier workers, such as social security and taxation;

13. Considers that the two advisory committees, in their work on freedom of movement and social security, must pay particular attention to the problems of border areas, including the social security contributions of frontier workers and the right to benefits;

14. Considers that the cross-border EURES (European Employment Service) partnerships which have been set up in border areas between public employment services, social partners and other interested parties must be stepped up; in this context, calls for better coordination between the EURES consultants from the trade unions and those from the employment services;

15. Calls on the Commission to submit a proposal for a programme to encourage Member States to improve services to migrant workers and frontier workers by arranging for national authorities to establish accessible call centres designated as EUREST Services (EURopean Employment & Social Security & Taxes-Services);

16. Considers that the EURES consultants should be used not only in their capacity as providers of information and advice for citizens in border areas, but also in an early warning capacity, and that to this end the procedures and channels for mapping out problems in border areas should be strengthened for the benefit of local, regional and national authorities and administrations and for European entities; calls, therefore, on the Commission to carry out multi-annual financial and subject-matter planning for the EURES network, particularly for cross-border initiatives;

17. Calls on the Commission also to consider other cross-border forms of cooperation and consultation structures such as Interreg, and other cross-border projects such as Euregio care offices;

18. Calls on the Commission to publish annual studies on the situation of frontier workers, including quantitative and qualitative analysis of cross-frontier employment and summaries of the legal situation, case law and problems in the different Member States;

19. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the European social partners, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.