Commission staff working document - The role of transnational company agreements in the context of increasing international integration {COM(2008) 419 final}
Date: 2008-07-02
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Works Council, European undertaking, group of companies, labour law, worker consultation, worker information

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 2.7.2008 
SEC(2008) 2155 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

The role of transnational company agreements 
in the context of increasing international integration 

{COM(2008) 419 final} 

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COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

The role of transnational company agreements 
in the context of increasing international integration 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Objectives and scope.................................................................................................... 4 

The purpose of transnational texts and transparency ................................................... 5 

Actors in transnational company negotiations ............................................................. 7 

Effects of transnational texts........................................................................................ 8 

Dispute settlement...................................................................................................... 10 

Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 11 

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In  the  context  of  the  Renewed  Social  Agenda1,  this  document  aims  to  contribute  to  the 
Commission  efforts  to  manage  the  process  of  globalisation  in  a  balanced  way  and  to  help 
European citizens benefit from the opportunities presented to them. Together with the revision 
of  the  Directive  on  European  Works  Councils,  the  Commission  Working  Document  on 
“Restructuring and Employment: the Contribution of the European Union”, and the report on 
the  implementation  of  the  European  Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund,  this  document 
contributes  to  promoting  anticipation  and  adaptation  to  structural  change  in  times  of 
globalisation, which requires an appropriate and timely involvement of workers. 

The  present  document  emphasises  the  key  role  and  the  potential  of  transnational  company 
agreements2 in today's increasingly international business environment. It is intended as input 
for  the  debate  on  such  agreements  and  on  the  contribution  of  different stakeholders  to  their 
development. 

The growing need to anticipate developments in terms of employment, flanking measures for 
restructuring,  and  managing  human  resources  throws  down  new  challenges  for  both 
management  and  workers  in  transnational  companies.  Against  the  backdrop  of  new 
approaches  to  dialogue  and  corporate  social  responsibility,  companies  and  workers’ 
representatives have begun agreeing texts in various forms, drawn up jointly for application in 
more than one Member State. The Commission has listed 147 joint transnational texts in 89 
companies; most of these have been concluded since 2000. 

Such initiatives help to create a climate of trust and dialogue that allows balanced company 
policies  to  be  developed  through  an  approach  based  on  partnership,  in  particular  as  regards 
anticipation of, and accompanying measures for, change. They are also fully in line with the 
approach  developed  in  the  Commission’s  Communications  Towards  common  principles  of 
flexicurity:  More  and  better  jobs  through  flexibility  and  security3  and  Restructuring  and 
employment:  Anticipating  and  accompanying  restructuring  in  order  to  develop  employment 
— the role of the European Union4. 

The  growing  international  dimension  of  company  organisation  and  of  merger  and  take-over 
operations,  the  emergence  of  European  companies,  the  increasing  mobility  of  the  factors  of 
production  and  the  ever  more  transnational  scale  of  restructuring  operations  is  bringing  an 
ever greater need for transnational negotiation within firms. 

This  development,  which  now  affects  nearly  7.5  million  workers  across  the  world,  raises 
some  fundamental  practical,  legal  and  political  questions  for  the  social  actors  and  the 
European Union that are related to the discrepancy  between the transnational scope of texts 
concluded and national norms and references. 

1 

2 

3 
4 

Communication of the Commission "Renewed Social Agenda: Opportunities, access and solidarity in 21st century 
Europe", COM(2008) 412 of 2 July 2008. 
For the purposes of this document, ‘transnational company agreement’ means an agreement comprising reciprocal 
commitments the scope of which extends to the territory of several States and which has been concluded by one or 
more  representatives  of  a  company  or  a  group  of  companies  on  the  one  hand,  and  one  or  more  workers’ 
organisations on the other hand, and which covers working and employment conditions and/or relations between 
employers and workers or their representatives. 
COM(2007) 359 of 27.6.2007.  
COM(2005) 120 of 31.3.2005. 

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This paper forms part of the Social Agenda for 2005-105, which envisages the drawing-up of 
an optional European framework for social partners wishing to formalise the conduct and the 
outcome of ‘transnational collective bargaining’ in order to ‘support companies and sectors to 
handle  challenges  dealing  with  issues  such  as  work  organisation,  employment,  working 
conditions,  training’.  The  European  Parliament  and  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee  have  expressed  support  for  this  initiative  and  have  asked  the  Commission  to 
consider  proposals  in  conjunction  with  the  European  social  partners  for  drawing  up  a 
legislative framework on a voluntary basis6. 

1. 

OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE  

As part of a gradual approach to the debate on transnational company agreements and in the 
light  of  the  contributions  of  the  various  players  to  the  drafting  of  such  agreements,  the 
Commission  is  proposing  a  number  of  practical  measures  to  the  social  partners,  the 
Community institutions and the other stakeholders. A study report prepared by the services of 
the  Commission  in  conjunction  with  this  document  outlines  the  situation  regarding 
transnational texts already concluded7. 

The  Commission  is  convinced  of  the  potential  of  transnational  company  agreements  in  a 
context  of  increasing  international  integration.  However,  since this  is  a  new  and  technically 
complex  subject,  the  Commission  has  followed  and  will  continue  to  follow  a  step-by-step 
approach that involves all stakeholders in weighing up the facts and considering options. 

Since 2005 the Commission has collated and analysed the transnational texts available to the 
public and has conducted a survey of cases covering the actors involved in concluding them. 
It  commissioned  a  study8  assessing  the  legal  issues  arising  in  connection  with  transnational 
collective agreements and identifying the obstacles to their further development and ways of 
resolving  them.  It  also  organised  two  study  seminars  attended  by  the  social  partners,  the 
Member  States,  experts  and  parties  with  first-hand  experience,  with  a  view  to  making  the 
findings available, exchanging first impressions, considering the analyses and discussing the 
issues9. 

Some  points  need  clarifying  as  regards  the  scope  of  this  paper.  First,  it  concentrates  on 
companies. Social dialogue at other (sectoral and inter-trade) levels is increasingly structured 
within  the  Community  on  the  basis  of  Articles  138  and  139  of  the  Treaty  establishing  the 
European Community, and the Commission has dealt with this in depth in the Communication 
Partnership  for  change  in  an  enlarged  Europe:  Enhancing  the  contribution  of  European 
social  dialogue10.  The  European  social  partners  also 
the 

included  monitoring  of 

5 
6 

7 

8 

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texts 

COM(2005) 33 of 9.2.2005. 
Resolution  P6_TA(2005)0210  of  26  May  2005  (Rapporteur:  R.  Oomen-Ruijten)  and  EESC  Opinion  846/2005 
(Rapporteur: U. Engelen Kefer) adopted on 13 July 2005 by 60 votes to one, with three abstentions. 
European  Commission,  DG  Employment,  social  affairs  and  equal  opportunities,  "Mapping  of 
transnational 
at 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/labour_law/documentation_en.htm#5 
Transnational  collective  bargaining:  past,  present  and  future,  E.  Ales  (coordinator),  S.  Engblom,  T.  Jaspers,  S. 
Laulom, S. Sciarra, A. Sobczak and F. Valdés Dal-Ré. 
Documents and information at 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/labour_law/documentation_en.htm#5. 
COM(2004) 557 of 12.8.2004. 

negotiated 

corporate 

available 

level", 

online 

2008 

at 

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implementation of autonomous agreements concluded and analysis of their impact at various 
levels of social dialogue in their work programme for 2006-08. 

Next,  this  paper  focuses  on  Europe.  Here  the  Commission  is  looking  at  texts  largely  for 
application  in  the  Member  States.  Those  relating  mainly  to  compliance  with  international 
labour standards outside Europe are dealt with in the Communication Promoting decent work 
for all: The EU contribution to the implementation of the decent work agenda in the world11. 

Lastly, since the analysis set out below is based on concepts developed within widely varying 
national systems of industrial relations, the way certain terms are used needs to be explained. 

Texts intended to apply in more than one Member State and which have been concluded by 
companies  and  workers’  representatives  are  referred  to  by  the  generic  term  ‘transnational 
texts’. They cannot generally be termed ‘collective agreements’ as they are not concluded in 
accordance with the collective bargaining rules of a particular Member State. Since they deal 
with specific subjects at company level and do not seek to lay down a general framework for 
working  conditions  or  wage  levels,  they  cannot  be  regarded  as  ‘collective  conventions’. 
Where they are referred to as such by the parties or they involve mutual commitments that set 
them apart from mere declarations,  the  term ‘agreements’ is used. The process that leads to 
the  joint  signing  of  texts  by  representatives  of  the  employer  and  of  the  workers  and  which 
may range from straight acceptance by one party to an interactive process leading ultimately 
to  a  compromise  is  referred  to  by  the  generic  term  ‘negotiation’.  It  cannot  usually  be 
considered  equivalent  to  ‘collective  bargaining’  as  practised  at  national  level,  such  as  that 
covering wages and salaries.  

These clarifications are offered in the particular context of this document to facilitate the task 
of the reader, who needs to bear their limits in mind since the concepts covered by the terms 
may themselves differ in the various national systems and in different languages12.  

2. 

THE PURPOSE OF TRANSNATIONAL TEXTS AND TRANSPARENCY 

Knowledge of transnational texts is still in its infancy, and during the study seminars in 2006, 
the social partners stressed the need to continue gathering and exchanging information on the 
subject. The 88 transnational texts focusing on Europe that the Commission listed mainly deal 
with the following topics, in addition to the organisation of social dialogue itself: 

•  specific  subjects  such  as  health  and  safety  at  work,  equality  in  employment,  and  data 

protection; 

•  restructuring, work organisation, training and mobility; 

•  the principles behind human resources policy and corporate social responsibility. 

They reflect the need for flanking measures to accompany developments in company structure 
and  activities,  the  determination  to  develop  social  dialogue  and  to  deal  with  the  big  social 
issues arising in the company, and the desire to respond to specific needs in terms of health 

11 
12 

COM(2006) 249 of 24.5.2006. 
Distinctions such as that between ‘Betriebsvereinbarung’ (company agreement) and ‘Tarifvertrag’ (collective wage 
agreement) or between ‘négociation collective’ (collective bargaining) and ‘négociation’ (negotiation) do not exist, 
for instance, in all Member States or all Community languages. 

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and  safety,  financial  participation,  data  protection  and  equal  opportunities.  They  deal  only 
incidentally with wages and working hours, the key issues in national collective bargaining. 

Anticipating,  and  providing  for  accompanying  measures  for,  restructuring  are  especially 
important  in  this  process  and  concern  more  than  one  third  of  the  texts  agreed.  Both  the 
workers’  representatives  and  the  company  management  who  have  conducted  this  type  of 
dialogue  see  it  as  worthwhile  because  it  leads  to  a  shared,  overall  view  of  what  is  at  stake, 
develops  anticipation,  fosters  a  relaxed  social  climate  that  is  favourable  to  acceptance  of 
change, encourages the search for innovative professional transitions and heightened security 
for the workers concerned. 

The last few years have also seen the conclusion of transnational texts relating to fundamental 
rights  and  corporate  social  responsibility.  Such  texts  are  usually  termed  ‘international 
framework agreements’ where they are signed by international trade-union federations. Most 
of them mainly concern the non-European sphere and are not dealt with in this paper, except 
where a key aspect of their application and monitoring takes place within Europe.  

The existing transnational texts have varied titles, such as ‘joint opinion’, ‘joint declaration’, 
‘draft’,  ‘programme’,  ‘convention’,  ‘principles’,  ‘framework’,  ‘code  of  conduct’,  ‘charter’, 
‘framework agreement’, ‘agreement’ or ‘European agreement’. They may also be published in 
the form of brochures or as annexes to agreements setting up European works councils. There 
is no necessary link between the title of the text, its content, the procedure for negotiating it 
and the type of commitments it involves.  

In  2004  the  Commission  drew  up  a  typology  of  European  social  dialogue  texts  comprising 
four major categories13: 

•  agreements  laying  down  minimum  standards  and  implemented  autonomously  or  by  a 

Council decision in accordance with Article 139 of the Treaty; 

•  process-oriented  texts:  frameworks  for  action,  guidelines,  codes  of  conduct,  policy 

orientations; 

•  opinions, declarations and tools for exchanging information; 

•  procedural texts laying down rules on dialogue between the parties. 

The  drafting  of  transnational  texts  should  observe  certain  principles  where  the  parties  wish 
them to produce effects other than declaratory. For example, texts will be clearer and easier to 
implement if they are dated and signed and the name and capacity of the person signing are 
shown clearly, if the persons to whom the text is addressed are indicated, if the date by which 
its provisions are to be implemented and the way this is to be done are indicated and the rules 
for monitoring and settling disputes are shown, etc. 

The  Commission  could  usefully  suggest  how  transnational  texts  could  be  made  more 
transparent, as it did for the European social dialogue texts, without prejudice to the freedom 
of the parties. 

13 

COM(2004) 557 of 12.8.2004. 

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3. 

ACTORS IN TRANSNATIONAL COMPANY NEGOTIATIONS  

The issue of who the actors are is crucial in a transnational negotiation, as in any negotiations. 
At present one or more categories of actors play a part in representing workers: 

•  European works councils play a key role in concluding transnational texts. Almost all texts 

relating to Europe bear their signatures; 

•  Almost  half  of  the  texts  relating  to  Europe  bear  the  signatures  of  European  and/or 
international workers’ federations by virtue of their coordination or legitimation role in line 
with the workers’ desire; 

•  Several texts relating to Europe bear the signatures of national workers’ organisations, in 

particular where effects identical to that of national company agreements are sought. 

Today  none  of  these  three  categories  of  actors  has  the  full  legitimacy  or  the  legal  capacity 
needed  to  conclude  transnational  texts  to  which  the  parties  would  like  to  give  the  effect  of 
company agreements in several Member States. 

The competences of European works councils under Directive 94/45/EC are information and 
consultation, not negotiation. Their membership is tailored to that end and determining their 
representativeness is problematic given the frequent lack of proportionality when set against 
the worker head count. Furthermore, their involvement in negotiations is at odds with national 
systems that make a clear distinction between the consultative role of elected bodies (works 
councils)  and  the  negotiating  mandates  entrusted  to  trade  unions  or  which  utilise  a  single 
trade-union channel for worker representation. 

The  representativeness  of  European  and  international  workers’  organisations  and  their 
mandates  to  negotiate  and  sign  are  not  always  clear.  Organisations  such  as  the  European 
Metalworkers’ Federation have begun to adopt internal rules of procedure in this respect. The 
involvement of trade-union organisations in negotiations on issues such as restructuring also 
comes  up  against  national  systems  under  which  the  works  council  is  responsible  for  such 
topics. 

When  it  comes  to  concluding  transnational  texts,  the  crucial  limitation  affecting  national 
workers’ organisations lies in their national field of competence. 

When negotiating and signing transnational agreements the actors’ capacity to represent and 
enter into commitments on behalf of others is not a theoretical matter. The existing texts may 
stem  from  a  centralised  process  involving  the  management  and  the  coordinator  of  the 
European  works  council  and  from  the  active  involvement  of  local  actors  at  various  stages. 
Certain  opt-outs  have  occurred  following  disagreements  on  the  approach,  the  substance  or 
compatibility with national law. In other cases, the European text provides a framework for 
‘transposition’ via national agreements.  

At  the  study  seminars  held  in  2006  and  in  internal  resolutions  adopted  since  2005,  the 
European  trade-union  organisations,  who  believe  the  role  of  the  trade  unions  cannot  be 
circumvented,  highlighted  their  special  concern  regarding  the  issue  of  the  actors  in  the 
negotiation.  

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The  type  of  actors  involved  and  the  process  followed  in  concluding  transnational  texts  also 
pose a problem for the company negotiators, who need to innovate to ensure the text agreed is 
accepted  as  widely  as  possible  and  has  the  biggest  impact.  The  issue  of  the  actors  is  thus 
crucial for the development of transnational company agreements.  

4. 

EFFECTS OF TRANSNATIONAL TEXTS 

Nowadays commitments entered into when transnational texts are agreed vary considerably, 
ranging from joint declarations of general principles to the explicit determination to give legal 
force  to  binding  provisions  of  transnational  company  agreements.  Similarly,  while  uniform 
effects across Europe can be expected in terms of data protection, certain transnational texts 
function as a framework laying down objectives the procedure for implementing which is left 
to the discretion of, or negotiation by, local parties. 

During the study seminars, this diversity led to a debate on the type of commitments entered 
into  by  the  parties  signing  transnational  texts  and  on  what  effects  they  expect  such  texts  to 
produce.  Several  representatives  of  employers’  organisations  took  the  view  that  the  texts 
agreed are declaratory and are not intended as collective agreements. They also insisted that 
transnational  texts  can  only  lay  down  general  guidelines  and  are  not  intended  to  establish 
precise rules that are directly applicable. 

Irrespective  of  the  intention  of  the  parties  signing  them,  the  issue  of  the  legal  effects  of 
transnational  texts  needs  to  be  looked  at.  In  the  present  situation  this  is  a  complex  matter, 
which — depending on the content of the texts in question — is conditional on the national 
framework  that  may  apply,  whether  or  not  they  are  signed  by  national  trade  unions  and 
whether or not there is unilateral commitment on the part of the employer. At present, only 
texts bearing the signature of national trade unions may be regarded as collective agreements 
likely to produce legal effects as such, and only where they are concluded in accordance with 
the rules applying in the Member State concerned. 

What makes a collective agreement varies significantly from one Member State to another, in 
particular as regards the representativeness of the parties signing, compliance with negotiation 
procedures,  requirements  as  to  substance,  and  registration  formalities.  National  law  also 
varies  as  regards  the  legal  effect  of  collective  agreements,  e.g.  whether  or  not  they  have  a 
binding effect on employment contracts, whether they affect solely those parties signing them 
or all employees. Such differences should also prompt reflection on the existing texts and on a 
possible  Community  instrument,  which  should  take  account  of  the  risk  of  interference  with 
national  industrial  relations  systems  and  explore  the  possibility  of  making  provision  for 
transnational  company  agreements  to  have  the  same  sort  of  effects  as  company  agreements 
concluded at national level. 

Transnational  texts  also  raise  questions  regarding  data  protection:  on  this  subject,  reference 
should  be  made  to  the  opinions  and  documents  of  the  Working  Party  on  the  Protection  of 
Individuals with regard to the  Processing of Personal  Data14, which lay  down  guidelines  on 

14 

This  independent  European  advisory  body  was  set  up  under  Article  29  of  Directive  95/46/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of 
personal data and on the free movement of such data (OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31). Documents WP 48, WP 117, 
WP  74,  WP  107,  WP  108  and  WP  133  relate  to  the  processing  of  personal  data  in  a  professional  context,  the 
application of European data protection rules to internal whistleblowing schemes and the use of binding company 
rules for international transfers of personal data within transnational groups (WP 74). 

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how  personal  data  are  to  be  processed  in  accordance  with  the  principles  set  out  in 
Directive 95/46/EC.  In  particular,  in  order  for  binding  company  rules  to  constitute  a  valid 
instrument  for  making  transfers  of  personal  data  processed  in  the  Member  States  to  other 
companies  in  a  transnational  group  which  are  established  in  non-member  countries,  the 
Working Party states  that  the  persons  concerned and the national  data-protection authorities 
must be legally in a position to demand compliance with such rules. 

Given the potential development of transnational negotiations, thought should also be given to 
the  position  of  transnational  company  agreements  in  relation  to  other  norms  and  levels  of 
social dialogue. 

5. 

DISPUTE SETTLEMENT 

Rights and obligations arising from texts agreed may also include penalties in the event of a 
failure to observe the provisions of a transnational agreement. The risks of someone ‘going it 
alone’, of action being  taken  by  associations external to the  company or of non-compliance 
with  previous  commitments  following  a  merger  or  restructuring  have  been  raised  in  several 
cases. 

Nonetheless, in cases where a signatory party, employee, local employer or third party seeks 
to have rights under transnational texts recognised by the courts, the situation as determined 
by  the  rules  of  international  private  law  is  particularly  complex  and  unclear  today. 
Furthermore,  the  legal  uncertainty  created  by  the  difficulty  national  courts  may  have  in 
understanding  the  logic  behind  a  transnational  agreement  where  their  only  references  are 
national was pointed out by one company during the study seminars. 

In  terms  of  law  applicable,  the  Rome  Convention,  which  will  be  replaced  by  the  ‘Rome  I’ 
Regulation  as  from  [add  date  of  publication  of  Rome  I  in  OJ]15,  does  lay  down  a  special 
conflict-of-laws  rule  for  individual  employment  contracts,  but  makes  no  provision  for 
collective agreements. 

Article 6 of the Convention on the Law applicable to contractual obligations seeks to protect 
the  weaker  party,  i.e.  the  employee.  Accordingly,  the  result  of  the  parties’  choice  of  law  to 
apply to the employment contract cannot be to deprive the worker  of protection under such 
mandatory  provisions  as  are  applicable  by  default.  The  law  applicable  by  default  —  unless 
closer links with another country arise from the whole set of circumstances surrounding the 
employment contract, in which case the law of that other country is applicable — is that of the 
country where the worker habitually carries out his work or, if the worker does not habitually 
carry out his work in one and the same country, that of the country where the establishment 
that  employs  him  is  located.  However,  collective  agreements  concluded  at  national  or 
international  level  do  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  this  special  rule.  Several  Member  States 
consider, nevertheless, that their collective social legislation are ‘mandatory rules’ within the 
meaning  of  Article  7  of  the  Convention,  which  apply  solely  on  condition  that  the  work  is 
carried out within national territory. 

15 

Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the  law  applicable  to  contractual 
obligations (Rome I) (COM(2005) 650 of 15.12.2005); Regulation (EC) No 864/2007 of the European Parliament 
and  of  the  Council  of  11  July  2007  on  the  law  applicable  to  non-contractual  obligations  (Rome  II)  (OJ  L  199, 
31.7.2007, p. 40).  

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In terms of jurisdiction, the rules of international private law, and in particular the ‘Brussels I’ 
Regulation16,  are  also  difficult  to  apply  in  connection  with  collective  labour  relations. 
According  to  the  Regulation,  the  competent  courts  are,  in  principle,  those  at  the  place  of 
residence of the defendant, but the latter may be sued in the courts in another Member State in 
certain circumstances, for example at the place of execution of the contractual obligation. In 
connection with individual employment contracts, the employer may be sued in the courts at 
the place where he is domiciled or at the place where the worker habitually carries out or last 
carried out his work or, failing that, at the place where the establishment which employed him 
is located.  

Although dispute settlement is far from being the foremost concern of the actors involved in 
the  first  transnational  texts,  the  potential  development  of  transnational  negotiation  makes  it 
necessary to consider mechanisms allowing social actors to protect agreements concluded, to 
follow  their  development  and  to  resolve  any  differences  of  interpretation  and  disputes  that 
may arise in their application. Such mechanisms, which exist in national industrial relations 
systems,  do  not  apply  in  the  case  of  agreements  extending  beyond  the  province  of  national 
actors. 

The Commission considers that the situation should be more widely known and that thought 
should  be  given  to  the  way  disputes  arising  in  connection  with  transnational  company 
agreements can be settled both in and out of court. 

6. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The  existence  of  transnational  texts  and  the  issues  their  development  throws  up  for  social 
actors and the European Union are the underlying reasons for this paper, which is intended to 
lay  sound  foundations  for  further  consideration  by  the  stakeholders,  and  in  particular  the 
social partners. 

The conclusion of transnational company agreements is a key factor in the development of the 
European actors’ future capacity to conduct a social dialogue in keeping with the increasingly 
transnational  nature  of  company  organisation  and  the  need  to  anticipate  change  and  have 
strategies  to  deal  with  it.  Yet  actors  wishing  to  conclude  transnational  agreements  today 
encounter uncertainties and difficulties that may prevent or at least reduce the impact of such 
agreements.  These  relate  to  the  determination  of  the  parties  to  conclude  an  agreement,  its 
effects  and  the  settlement  of  any  disputes  that  may  arise  in  its  interpretation  and 
implementation.  

With a view to promoting social dialogue and supplementing the action of the Member States 
as regards the representation and collective defence of the interests of workers and employers, 
the  Commission  will  support  initiatives  to  conclude  transnational  company  agreements 
without prejudice to compliance with the applicable national or Community provisions.  

To that end the Commission will set up an expert group on transnational company agreements 
whose mission will be to monitor developments and exchange information on how to support 
the process under way, and it will invite the social partners, governmental experts and experts 
of other institutions to take part.  

16 

Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of 
judgments in civil and commercial matters (OJ L 12, 16.1.2001, p. 1). 

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The  Commission  will  provide  the  expert  group  with  its  initiatives  and  work  on  the  subject, 
which will focus on: 

•  developing a data base of transnational texts; 

•  organising exchanges of experience and analyses; 

•  reviewing the effects produced by company agreements and the way norms relate to each 

other in the Member States; 

•  clarifying the rules of international private law in connection with transnational texts. 

The Commission will also propose that support for the conclusion of transnational company 
agreements  be  among  the  priorities  in  the  budget  headings  on  social  dialogue.  In  this 
connection the Commission will consider projects to: 

•  identify ways of ensuring the texts agreed are more transparent; 

•  facilitate the identification of the actors, approaches or mechanisms that could be promoted 

in this area, 

•  determine  conciliation  or  mediation  mechanisms  that  could  be  promoted  with  a  view  to 

facilitating dispute settlement. 

EN 

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