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having regard to Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union,

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having regard to Article 153 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

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having regard to its resolution of 14 January 2014 on effective labour inspections as a strategy to improve working conditions in Europe (1),

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having regard to its resolution of 19 January 2017 on a European Pillar of Social Rights (2),

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having regard to its resolution of 17 December 2020 on a strong social Europe for Just Transitions (3),

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having regard to its resolution of 22 October 2020 on the employment and social policies of the euro area 2020 (4),

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having regard to its resolution of 20 January 2021 on strengthening the single market: the future of free movement of services (5),

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having regard to its resolution of 20 May 2021 on impacts of EU rules on the free movements of workers and services: intra-EU labour mobility as a tool to match labour market needs and skills (6),

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having regard to its resolution of 19 June 2020 on European protection of cross-border and seasonal workers in the context of the COVID-19 crisis (7),

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having regard to question E-001132/2021 of 25 February 2021 and the written answer thereto, provided by the Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights on behalf of the Commission on 28 April 2021 (8),

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having regard to Directive 2008/104/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on temporary agency work (9),

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having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1149 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 establishing a European Labour Authority (10),

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having regard to Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems (11),

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having regard to Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems (12),

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having regard to Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services (13),

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having regard to Directive (EU) 2018/957 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 June 2018 amending Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services (14),

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having regard to Directive 2014/67/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the enforcement of Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System (‘the IMI Regulation’) (15),

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having regard to Directive (EU) 2020/1057 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 laying down specific rules with respect to Directive 96/71/EC and Directive 2014/67/EU for posting drivers in the road transport sector and amending Directive 2006/22/EC as regards enforcement requirements and Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 (16),

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having regard to Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 as regards minimum requirements on maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods and Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 as regards positioning by means of tachographs (17),

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having regard to Regulation (EU) 2020/1055 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 amending Regulations (EC) No 1071/2009, (EC) No 1072/2009 and (EU) No 1024/2012 with a view to adapting them to developments in the road transport sector (18),

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having regard to Directive (EU) 2019/1152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union (19),

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having regard to CJEU judgment in case C-55/18, according to which Member States must require employers to set up a system enabling the duration of daily working time to be measured (20),

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having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), proclaimed by the European Council, Parliament and the Commission in November 2017,

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having regard to the Commission proposal of 3 June 2021 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 as regards establishing a framework for a European Digital Identity (COM(2021)0281), ‘a trusted and secure European e-ID’,

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having regard to the Commission communication of 30 March 2020 on guidelines concerning the exercise of the free movement of workers during COVID-19 outbreak,

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having regard to the Commission communication of 16 July 2020 on guidelines on seasonal workers in the EU in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak,

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having regard to the Commission communication of 4 March 2021 on the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan (COM(2021)0102),

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having regard to the question to the Commission on the introduction of a European Social Security Pass for improving the digital enforcement of social security rights and fair mobility (O-000071/2021 — B9-0041/2021),

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having regard to Rules 136(5) and 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

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having regard to the motion for a resolution of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs,

A.

whereas intra-EU labour mobility has followed an upward trend in recent years; whereas in 2019, 17,9 million people from the EU-28 moved to another EU country; whereas 13 million of these movers were of working age and 78 % of them were employed; whereas there were 1,5 million cross-border workers in the EU in 2019 (21); whereas the active movers accounted for 4,3 % of the total labour force in the EU’s 28 Member States in 2019; whereas the Commission’s 2017 data estimates undeclared work at approximately 11,6 % of total labour input in the EU private sector and 16,4 % of gross value added (22); whereas 4,6 million A1 portable documents were issued in the EU in 2019 which accounts for an estimated 3,06 million workers; whereas posted workers are required to possess an A1 form when working in another Member State; whereas the A1 form provides information regarding the social security system which is covering a worker; whereas A1 forms do not provide up-to-date information in real time regarding social security coverage;

B.

whereas Eurofound data shows that the spells of intra-EU mobility are getting shorter, with 50 % of movers staying in the host country for one to four years; whereas return mobility has also increased (23): for every four people who left a Member State in 2017, three returned (24); whereas shorter and repeated spells of mobility make it even more necessary for mobile workers to keep track of their social security contributions and pension rights;

C.

whereas Article 48 TFEU confers on Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, the competence to adopt such measures in the field of social security as are necessary to provide freedom of movement for workers; whereas to this end, they must make arrangements to secure social security rights for employed and self-employed migrant workers and their dependants; whereas Article 153(1) TFEU confers on the Union the competence to support and complement the activities of the Member States in the field of social security; whereas Article 153(2) TFEU establishes that, in the field of social security, the Council is to act unanimously, in accordance with a special legislative procedure, after consulting Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions;

D.

whereas mobile workers and citizens contribute to the wealth of the socio-economic fabric in border regions, which account for 40 % of the EU’s territory; whereas it is therefore necessary to ensure a level playing field and fair mobility conditions for citizens by providing them with the appropriate tools in order to guarantee them legal certainty, protection of their rights and social security coverage; whereas it is important to avoid placing an excessive administrative burden on companies, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);

E.

whereas Principle 12 of the European Pillar of Social Rights states that, regardless of the type and duration of their employment relationship, workers and, under comparable conditions, the self-employed have the right to adequate social protection;

F.

whereas the challenges concerning unfair competition based on labour exploitation, fraudulent forms of contracting and unfair practices such as social dumping remain an issue across Member States and are highly problematic for European companies, workers and societies; whereas various forms of contracting work appear to be most affected by fraud; whereas there is a lack of reliable data to establish the size of the problem especially in the context of the posting of workers (25); whereas one of the causes is the lack of effective monitoring and enforcement of applicable Union law, in particular as regards the principles of equal treatment and equal pay for equal work at the same place, which cannot be guaranteed if the principle of traceability and portability of rights is not respected and which needs to be improved;

G.

whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated the precarious working and living conditions of many mobile and cross-border workers in the EU; whereas the crisis has shed light on the importance of robust and stable social security systems, ensuring that no one is left behind as a result of having exercised their freedom of movement; whereas at the outbreak of the pandemic, measures taken by Member States resulted in legal uncertainty for mobile workers as regards applicable rules on social security and many struggled to request unemployment benefits remotely; whereas the pandemic has shed light on the particular vulnerabilities of undeclared and seasonal workers without social security coverage, and abuse and fraudulent use of COVID-19 induced short-term financial support rescue packages has led to increased levels of undeclared and under-declared work, including new forms of undeclared work support (26);

H.

whereas digitalisation provides an unprecedented opportunity to facilitate labour mobility while making compliance with applicable EU provisions faster and easier to control; whereas there is no EU-wide systematic data gathering exercise aiming to provide adequate data on mobile workers or to facilitate the portability of social security rights across borders through the real-time verification of workers’ social security coverage and benefits by competent actors and institutions; whereas access to information on applicable rules as well as effective compliance, monitoring and enforcement are necessary preconditions for fair mobility and the fight against abuses; whereas digital technology, which can facilitate the supervision and enforcement of legislation, safeguarding the rights of mobile workers and reducing administrative costs for companies and national institutions, should therefore be promoted and used in compliance with data protection rules;

I.

whereas different forms of national cards or comparable instruments in the field of labour law have been developed by national social partners in various sectors in the Member States, either in cooperation with local authorities or by national authorities; whereas these various initiatives have an essential characteristic in common: an identification number or a personal card that supply workers, authorities and main providers with an effective instrument to ensure social security coverage and decent wages and working conditions at the workplace; whereas these initiatives create awareness of employment and working conditions for all workers and improve enforcement;

J.

whereas in its resolution of 14 January 2014 on effective labour inspections, Parliament called on the Commission to investigate the benefits of introducing a forgery-proof European social security card or other EU-wide electronic document at European level, on which could be stored all the data needed to verify the bearer’s employment relationship, such as details on social security status and working hours, and which would be subject to strict data protection rules; whereas in its resolution of 19 January 2017 on a European Pillar of Social Rights, Parliament pointed to the potential of accessible e-government solutions, possibly including a European social security card, with strong data protection guarantees, which could improve EU social security coordination and individual awareness; whereas, in its resolution of 22 October 2020 on the employment and social policies of the euro area 2020, Parliament called on the Commission to put forward a proposal for a digital EU social security number following a proper, fact-based impact assessment; whereas in its resolution of 17 December 2020 on a strong social Europe for Just Transitions, Parliament called once again on the Commission to put forward a proposal for a digital European social security number (ESSN) and for a potential control mechanism such as a personal labour card, and asserted that workers and their representatives and inspectorates must have up-to-date access to information about their employers and their wage entitlements and labour and social rights; whereas in its resolution of 20 May 2021 on intra-EU labour mobility, Parliament stressed that the digitalisation of data exchanges between Member States could facilitate the free movement of workers on a fair and equitable basis as well as ensuring the enforcement of relevant Union rules;

K.

whereas the Commission’s work programme for 2018, dated 24 October 2017, announced the intention to introduce an ESSN with the aim of contributing to the overall objective of safeguarding fair working conditions for mobile workers, upholding social standards for all mobile citizens and ensuring their proper enforcement; whereas the Commission consulted stakeholders and citizens on the introduction of an ESSN between 27 November 2017 and 7 January 2018; whereas in its 2017 inception impact assessment for an ESSN, the Commission envisaged, in a longer-term perspective, the possibility of extending the use of the ESSN to other policy areas beyond social security coordination; whereas the Commission confirmed in its 2019 Annual Burden Survey, published on 13 August 2020, that it was working on an initiative on an ESSN; whereas Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in the State of the European Union speech on 16 September 2020 that the Commission would soon propose a trusted and secure European e-identity system; whereas the Commission announced in the European Pillar of Social Rights action plan that it would start a pilot in 2021 to explore launching a European social security pass (ESSP) by 2023, building on the initiative for a European e-ID;

L.

whereas the European Trade Union Confederation considers the ESSN a valuable instrument to fight fraud and social security abuses; whereas on 12 January 2018, Business Europe published a note stressing the potential of the ESSN to improve the coordination of social security in the EU, while also addressing concerns related to the diversity of national social security systems, possible data protection issues and additional administrative burdens; whereas the social partners in the construction sector have called for effective digital tools to ensure the enforcement of the applicable legislation, including a European approach to personal labour cards (27);

M.

whereas the European Labour Authority (ELA) was established in June 2019; whereas an ESSN is not included in the ELA Regulation; whereas the objective of the ELA is to ensure fair labour mobility by assisting Member States and the Commission in their effective application and enforcement of Union law related to labour mobility and the coordination of social security system;

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