The Commission’s proposal
On November 13, 2024, the Commission set out its proposal to bring together within a single digital portal the notification of transnational service provision.
Such notification is currently handled autonomously by each Member State (via digital portals, mail and/or e-mail).
The new proposal had been also outlined in the previous Communication ‘Long-Term Competitiveness of the EU’.
The purpose behind this was the reduction of the administrative burden of companies providing services within the European Single Market. In this sense, the declared reduction target is at least 25 per cent). The Commission also aims to continue to ensure high standards of protection for posted workers and international mobility in accordance with the legislation currently in force.
The benefits
The Commission has summarised the advantages of using a single portal in the following points:
- Reduction of administrative burdens for posted workers. The use of a single portal would reduce the notification time by an average of 73%. In addition, it would be made available in all official EU languages. It would also facilitate the compilation of the required data. 30 data points for completing the notification have been proposed, all within a user-friendly platform.
- Improved cooperation between Member States. The new portal will be part of the IMI (Internal Market Information System). Such system is already in use for the mutual monitoring of compliance of posting rules. The technical basis for the posting notification for road hauliers is, in fact, active and available since 2022.
- Support for worker protection. Through the implementation of the one-stop portal, non-compliance with the posting notification rules is expected to decrease and at the same time the transparency of postings is expected to increase. This will also facilitate targeted inspections by the competent authorities.
The background
The legal basis for the freedom to provide services within the single market can be traced back to the Directive 96/71/EC, later implemented through the Directive 2014/67/EU.
The new single portal initiative is in line with previous directives to ensure ever greater protection for workers and follows the 2020 announcement on the new Industry Strategy and is part of the Communication released in March 2024 ‘Labour and skills shortages: an action plan’.
Although there is still no official communication on the future availability of the single portal, all stakeholders expect news in the coming months, including from the Member States, whose participation in the creation of digital tool remains voluntary.