BusinessEurope offers to the ETUC to negotiate the revision of the European Works Councils Directive

4 October 2023 - On 4 October, BusinessEurope offered to the European Trade Union Confederation to negotiate the revision of the European Works Councils (EWCs) Directive and informed Commissioner Schmit of this offer.

BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer said: “We are convinced that the European social partners are the best placed to effectively deal with the revision of the European Works Councils Directive. We call on the ETUC to live up to its responsibilities and engage in negotiations aimed at improving the functioning of the European Works Councils. We urge the Commission to encourage and facilitate such negotiations. The legal framework governing the functioning of EWCs deals with crucial issues for the social partners. There are EWCs in some 1000 companies today and another 2,600 companies are potentially concerned. In total, they employ some 30 million employees. European social partners owe it to all these employers and workers to negotiate a mutually beneficial revision of this important directive.”

BusinessEurope’s decision comes in response to the European Commission’s second-stage consultation of the European social partners on a possible revision of the European Works Councils Directive, which was initiated by the European Commission on 26 July. Article 154 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) requires the Commission to consult the social partners before submitting proposals in the social policy field and to facilitate their social dialogue by ensuring balanced support for the parties. Article 155 of the TFEU gives the possibility to the European social partners to negotiate agreements that can substitute a Commission legislative proposal.

Please find BusinessEurope’s letters to Commissioner Schmit here and to the ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch here.