PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) CHANGING PART II OF REGULATION ( EEC ) NO 1612/68 ON FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT FOR WORKERS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY
Date: 1991-09-05
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU employment policy, EU national, equal treatment, free movement of workers, labour market

COMVIISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMVTUNITIES 

C0M(91)  316 final  - SYN 359 

Brussels,  5  September  1991 

P r o p o s al 

f or  a 

COUNCIL  REGULATION 

(EEC) 

Changing  P a rt  II  of  R e g u l a t i on 

(EEC)  NO  1 6 1 2 / 68  on  freedom  of 

movement  f or  workers  w i t h in  t he  Community 

(presented  by  the  Commission) 

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'.'  S'"s  •  if  ' - '  M 

EXPLANATORY MJMQRAypuy 

1. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 

1.1. Existing system 

Part II of Regulation 1612/68 on the free movement of workers in 

the Community  concerns the workings of an exchange system of job 

vacancies, applications for employment and cooperation between the 

employment services of the Member states and the Commission, in an 

effort to facilitate the mobility of workers within the Community. 

2 

The mechanism, known as SEDOC  (Système Européen de Diffusion des 

Offres et demandes d'emploi en Compensation), brings together for 

the purpose two elements : a codified and rigid procedure (for the 

exchange of  information  relating to  job vacancies, requests for 

employment,  living  and  working  conditions)  between  employment 

services,  and  a  network  of  human  correspondents  in  the  public 

employment services of each country feeding into and utilising the 

system. At least once a month, lists of unfilled job vacancies and 

applications are exchanged by telex between these services which 

then try to ensure  that as many matchings  as possible  are made 

between the two lists. 

1.2. Reasons for the proposed revision 

The way this system works in practice has never given real cause 

for satisfaction for a variety of reasons linked to the changing 

situation of national labour markets, insufficient promotion of its 

use, the  rapid  obsolescence  of  the  tool  in  relation  to modern 

technologies for the handling and distribution of information, and 

also to the self limiting constraints imposed by the Regulation. 

These are notably : 

Only information on vacancies "unfilled... by manpower from 

the  national  labour  market"  should  be  exchanged.  This 

situation  condemns  the  exchange  to  be  centered  almost 

exclusively on vacancies which tend to be less attractive at 

national level. These vacancies very often couldn't be filled 

either at Community level. This situation does not tally with 

the principle of non discrimination between nationals of the 

Community within a single European labour market. 

Regarding applications for employment, the search for jobs is 

normally  limited  to  the  pool  of  those  unfilled vacancies. 

These  have  mostly  completely  different  characteristics  in 

comparison  with  the  applications.  Clearance  is  therefore 

normally difficult and not successful. 

On the other hand there are no measures to ensure that appli 

cants will receive a response to their request for information 

on job opportunities. 

The  Regulation  imposes  on  labour  administrations  and  the 

Commission cumbersome bureaucratic constraints which are not 

felt to be justified in this day and age. 

4 

The Commission's work programme implementing the Community 

Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers, and th 

Resolution of the  European  Parliament  on  this  programme 

envisage the renovation  of the SEDOC system and consequently 

the updating of Part II  of Regulation 1612/68. 

1.3. The legal basis for the proposed revision 

Article 49 of the Treaty as amended by the Single Act constitutes 

the  legal  basis  for  regulations  and  directives  on  freedom  of 

movement; it states that the Council  shall  act  Hby  a qualified 

majority on a proposal from the Commission, in cooperation with the 

European Parliament and after consulting the Economic and Social 

Committee". 

1.4. Objectives of the proposed revision 

It is proposed to revise Part II of the Regulation along three main 

guidelines : 

encourage Member States to distribute vacancies and requests 

likely to be filled at Community  level in the framework of 

worker mobility; 

5 

guarantee  to  those  job  seekers  who  wish  to  work  in 

another  Member  state  that  they  can  obtain  from  the 

employment  service  of  their  country  of  residence  the 

quality  and rapidity  of  service  at  least equal to that 

they would obtain if they moved to the Member state where 

they wish to work. 

- 

simplify procedures for users and administrations. 

2. EXAMINATION IN DETAIL OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO REGUIATION 

1612/68 

The proposal concerns Articles 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 of the 

Regulation which should be changed. These changes put forward based 

on the following reasons : 

2.1  Article 14  , paragraph  1 and paragraph 2; 

The  first  sentence  should  adapted  to  the  rules  concerning  the 

procedure  for  committees.  Within  the  overall  objective  of 

simplifying both the Regulation and the tasks of the Member States, 

it is appropriate to alleviate those obligations on Member States 

concerning technical details and other information which the Member 

States provide  as part of their  cooperation  with the  Commission. 

The  technical  details  of  the  delivery  and  the  exchange  of 

information which may be useful in a future SEDOC system should be 

determined  by  the  Commission  in  co-operation  with  the  Technical 

Committee. This simplification of the Regulation could enable the 

partners to react more flexibly to the requirements of the system 

and  avoid  overdetailed  obligations  of  the  Member  States  which 

cannot  be  met  or  aren't  useful  in  the  context  of  a  renovated 

exchange  system. 

2.2. Article 14 paragraph 3 

6 

The first sentence should be adapted to the rules concerning the 

procedure for committees. 

2.3. Article 15 and Article 16 

These are the central part of the Regulation concerning the SEDOC 

system and contain in their revised text the most important changes 

and adaptations. 

Using  new  data  communication  techniques, new  possibilities  are 

opened  up  for rapid  exchange  of  information, and  in particular 

regarding  vacancies  and  applications  for  employment. Therefore, 

"returns" according to Article 15 paragraph lf first sentence will 

not be necessary  if a new SEDOC system  is capable of exchanging 

information and messages rapidly. 

2.3.1. Article 15. parag.  1(a)  and  (h) 

The objective of the changes in Article 15 paragraph  1(a) is to 

delete the restrictions on the selection of vacancies distributed 

in  the  past  by  the  clearance  mechanism,  and  to  encourage  the 

employment services to distribute all vacancies which could appeal 

to Communitiy workers. It would be desirable as an ideal system of 

a  single  labour  market  to  implement  a  full  sharing  out  of  all 

registered  job vacancies but this is at the moment basically not 

practical. Nevertheless, vacan-cies which may be interesting on a 

Community labour market basis should be selected as sub-sets of a 

Community nature from within the national data bases. 

7 

Thus the Community dimension of the labour market may be added to 

the national procedures of clearance for vacancies and applications 

for employment. 

The context also  implies the  insertion of  a new alinéa  (b), that 

ensures a better transparency of the Community  labour market. 

2.3.2  Article  15 paragraph 1(c) and  fd) : 

It  distinguishes  in  the  revised  text  between  two  types  of 

applicants  for  employment, on  the  one  hand  those  applicants  who 

wish  to  work  in  another  Member  State  and  who  express  this  wish 

"formally"  (Article  15  para  1  (c)).  This  first  category  of 

applicants isn't provided for in the existing texts, but experience 

shows  that  it  is  the  group  of  applicants  which  is  the  most 

interested  in the  Community  labour market. On the other hand the 

revised  text refers  in Article  15 para  1  (d) to those  applicants 

who  are  ready  and  able  to  accept  employment  in  another  Member 

State. In both cases the aim of Article 15 para 1 (c) and (d) is to 

allow  for  any  positive  measures  on  the  part  of  the  employment 

services to help all job seekers who have decided on mobility. It 

should guarantee that these job seekers obtain from the employment 

services of their country of residence the quality and rapidity of 

service at least equal to that they would obtain if they moved to 

the Member State where they wish to work. 

2.3.3  Article  15. parag. 2 

The last part of Article  15 paragraph  2 should be deleted  because 

the time delay  of  eighteen months related  only to  1968 and up to 

and including the Decisions concerning  SEDOC  in 1972. 

2.3.4. Article 16  : 

8 

It contains the details of the procedure for clearance of vacancies 

and applications for employment. 

The changes in Article 16 paragraph 1 have to follow the changes in 

Article 15 paragraph 1 and regulate therefore a different kind of 

clearance.  Furthermore  the  revised  text  lifts  cumbersome 

obligations under the current procedures. The second sentence in 

Article 16 paragraph 1 (revised text) is transferred from paragraph 

2  in  the  current  version  and  concerns  the  possible  responses 

regarding vacancies. 

2.3.5. Article 16 paragraph 2 : 

This paragraph  establishes  a new procedure  for applications for 

employment in Article 15 paragr. 1 (c), which are introduced with 

a  degree  of  emphasis  and  which  should  get  a  response  in  a 

reasonable delay whether there is a suitable vacancy or not. The 

delay has to be flexible enough for the employment services to be 

able to react as a consequence. 

2.3.6. Article 16 parag. 3 : 

The principle of equality of treatment between nationals and the 

subjects  of  other  Member  States  in  the  Community  specificially 

enunciated by Article 16 paragraph 2 (existing text) is reiterated 

in paragraph 3 of Article 16 (revised). 

The overdetailed and cumbersomme procedures in Article 16 paragraph 

3 of the existing text were not of any practical use in the past 

and should be deleted. 

9 

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2.4. Article 17 

The  change  concerning  the  "returns"  in  Article  17  paragraph  1 

subparagraph  (ai fiY follows the changes in Article 15.The word 

"outstanding" in Article 17 paragraph 1 subparagraph (b) is unclear 

(because it can be understood as "unfilled"in Article 15 existing 

text) and defunct as well. Article  17 should  incite the Member 

States to organize as far as possible the exchange of all vacancies 

and applications for employment in the cross border regions. 

2.5  Article 19 

* 

• 

•• 

. 

The first paragraph represents the legal basis for the monitoring 

of the clearance system and as such should remain. Nevertheless the 

obligations  should be simplified. The periodicity  in Article 19 

paragraph 1 first sentence f"Twice a year") should be handled more 
flexibly. Regarding Article .19 paragraph 1 second and third indents 

'-É S 

the  text  is  simplified  taking  into  account  that  the  reports 

referred to could already be provided for in Article 14. 

.

.. 

JO 

2.6  Article 20 

It contains very cumbersome and hardly useful detailed obligations 

f 

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-. 

^ 

for the Member States. A new clearance system makes such provisions 

unnecessary. In facft, the new system allows to react immediately 

and without  any special administrative measures in front of any 

major  changes  andf disturbances  on  tfce  regional  or  national 

industrial labour markets. 

2.7 The ANNEX  (to rArtiele 16) 

It  is  no  longer  applicable  because  Article  16  paragraph  3  is 

deleted. 

2 

M 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION (EBC) 

Changing Part II of Regulation (EEC) NO 1612/68 on freedom of 

movement for workers within the Community 

The Council of the European Community, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic 

Community and in particular Article 49 thereof, 

In cooperation with the European Parliament, 

-  Wr 

Having  regard  to  the  Opinion  of  the  Economic  and  Social 

Committee, 

t 

Whereas  the  free movement  of  workers  within  the  Community 

constitutes a fundamental right established by the Treaty; 

M-

Whereas to give effect to the freedom of movement of workers 

coming from the Member States in the Community it is necessary 

to  reinforce  the mechanism  for  clearance  of  vacancies and 

applications for employment; 

Whereas the principle of non-discrimination between Community 

workers implies the recognition, in fact and in law, for all 

nationals of the Member States of the same priority  in the 

labour market as enjoyed by national workers of each Member 

State;  that  this  priority  is  established  equally  in  the 

framework  of  the mechanism  for  clearance  of  vacancies and 

applications for employment; 

Whereas  it  is  advisable  to  ensure  the  greatest  possible 

transparency of the Community labour market, especially when 

determining vacancies and applications for employment which 

are the subject of Community clearance. 

JÏ 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

ARTICLE 1 

Regulation (EEC) N° 1612/68 is hereby changed as follows 

1.  In Article 14 : 

are deleted in paragraph 1 the words "by region and 

by branch of activity" 

paragraph 2 is replaced by : 

"2.  After  having  obtained  the 

opinion  of  the 

Technical Committee, the Commission shall determine 

the manner in which the information referred to in 

paragraph 1 shall be drawn up". 

in the first sentence of paragraph 3 the words "in 

agreement  with"  are  replaced  by  "after  having 

obtained the opinion of" 

M 

2.  Article 15 is replaced by : 

Article 15 

1.  The specialist service of each Member State shall 

regularly  send to the specialist  services  of the 

other  Member  States  and  to  the  European  Co 

ordination Office 

(a) the vacancies likely to be filled by Community 

nationals from other Member States 

(b) they acancies addressed to non-Member States 

(c) the applications for employment of those who 

have  formally  expressed  the wish  to work in 

another Member State 

(d) information, by occupation and by region, on 

the applicants, who have declared themselves 

actually ready and able to accept employment 

in another country 

The specialist service of each Member State shall 

forward  such  information  to  the  appropriate 

employment services and agencies. 

JLS 

2.  The vacancies and applications messages referred to 

in paragraph 1 shall be circulated according to a 

uniform  system  to be established  by the  European 

Co-ordination  Office  in  collaboration  with  the 

Technical Committee. 

Article 16 is replaced by : 

Article 16 

1.  Any  vacancy  within  the  meaning  of  Article  15 

addressed  to the employment services of a Member 

State shall be communicated and dealt with by the 

competent employment services of the other Member 

States  which  are  concerned.  Such  services  shall 

forward  to the services of  that Member  State the 

details of  suitable  applicants  who  are Community 

nationals. 

2.  The applications referred to in subparagraph 1(b) 

of  Article  15  shall  be  responded  to  by  the 

reveiving  services  of the Member  States within a 

reasonable delay. 

3.  The employment services grant the same priority to 

the workers of the Member States as is granted by 

the national measures pertinent to national workers 

with regard to workers from non-Member States. 

4.  In Article 17, first paragraph : 

- 

the  word  "returns"  in  subparagraph  (a)(i)  is 

replaced by "messages" 

the  word  "outstanding"  in  subparagraph  (b)  is 

deleted 

5.  In Article 19 the first paragraph is replaced by : 

1.  On the basis of a report from the Commission drawn 

up from information supplied by the Member States, 

the  latter  and  the  Commission  shall  regularly 

together  analyse  the  results  of  Community 

arrangements regarding vacancies and applications 

6.  Article 20 is replaced by : 

Article 20 

(deleted) 

7.  The Annex is deleted 

ARTICLE 2 

This Regulation shall enter into force on 

This Regulation shall be binding in its ejitirety and directly 

applicable in all Member States. 

fi 
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Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 

<A% 

FINANCIAL SHEET 

The proposal does not have any financial consequences for the Comitiunity 

insofar as it does not modify basically the obligations already falling 

on  the  Member  States  and  on  the  Commission  with  regard  to  the 

implementation of the regulation 1612/68. 

/3 

IMPACT OF CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE MEASURES 

ON SMALL AND  MEDIUM-SI2ED ENTERPRISES AND EMPLOYMENT 

1.  Administrative  obligations  arising  from  the  application  of 

legislation for enterprises: 

-  None 

2. Advantages  for enterprises: 

Yes 

Which? 

greater transparency and availability of manpower coming from 

Member States 

3. Disadvantages  for enterprises: 

(Additional costs) 

-  none 

4. Effects on employment: 

More flexibility  for enterprises and increased  intra-Community 

mobility. 

1.  Was nere preliminary consultation of the two sides of industry? 

10 

Yes  (in the  Consultative  Committee  on  free movement  of  workers) 

Opinion  of  two  aides of  induatry  : favourable 

6.  Is there  a less  constraining  alternative  approach? 

No 

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