Cross-Border Labour Market Mobility in European Border Regions Background Paper Based on the results of the project Improving information for frontier workers in European border regions implemented by the Association of European Border Regions from1 December 2011 to 31 December 2012
1. FACTS More than one third of the EU population live in cross-border areas, where crossing the border on their way to a leisure activity, a cultural event or to work, is part of their daily life. There is a lack of reliable data. According to a study commissioned by the DG Employment and Social Affairs of the European Commission that was published in the beginning of the year 2009, the number of cross-border commuters amounted in the EU (including EEA/EFTA) in the year 2006/2007 to about 780.000 workers. For EU-15/EEA/EFTA the total number of commuters has increased by 26% from about 490,000 in 1999/2000 to about 660,000 in 2006/2007. According to the study of the European Commission most commuting streams are centred in North West Europe, but also in the Scandinavian countries and some border areas along the new internal borders (e.g. between Estonia and Finland, Hungary and Austria or Slovenia and Italy) the level of cross-border labour mobility is considerable. It is definitely possible that more and more citizens of the old European Union member states will start to travel to work to the new member states, particularly if the gaps in salary rates are reduced. The level of cross-border labour mobility depends on different factors. Wage differences and better job opportunities are an important incentive. Well developed regional and crossborder transport connections and good knowledge of the language of the neighbouring country are also important factors facilitating cross-border labour mobility. Moreover, some examples show that differences in housing and / or living costs can also have an impact on cross-border mobility. A new phenomenon is that firms in border areas close their business in the land of origin due to higher wage and / or tax levels and open the business again on the other side of the border. The consequence for the employees is that they become involuntarily frontier workers if they don t want to lose their jobs. In fact, it can be also observed that in countries with no minimum wage (for example in Scandinavia) the social benefits of the state are misused in order to enforce lower wages. 2. PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES Differences in the systems of social security and taxation are still serious obstacles limiting mobility. Even if there are relevant statutory regulations at the European level, and if one checks the impact of the status of a cross-border employee on persons who are such employees, the relevant official bodies often have great doubts about the interpretation and application of existing regulations at the national level. The responsible national bodies and administrations are usually not located at the border, and are consequently not sufficiently aware of the problems that frontier workers have to face. Consequently, the national regulations not always take adequately into account the circumstances of frontier workers. 2
The uncertainties about the consequences of cross-border commuting are an important obstacle to cross-border labour mobility. Accordingly, the number of cross-border workers could most probably be higher, if potential cross-border workers could receive better information about possible risks and particularities of working in another country. Responsible bodies at national level do not consider solving the problems of border areas as a priority, particularly due to the fact that the number of cross-border employees constitutes an insignificant percentage of all employees. Frequently, the necessary statistical data about the number of cross-border employees is missing, and thus the national bodies do not pay this matter adequate attention. One of the main mobility obstacles is also the insufficient command of the language of the neighbouring country. Prejudices, insecurity about the working conditions in a neighbouring country and fear of discrimination are also hindering factors with considerable impact. A complete harmonisation of legislation is impossible in the foreseeable future, and this is not desired by the Member States, even with the completion of the Single Market. The EU legislation on social security coordination - in particular Regulation No 3, Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 - strengthens the rights of EU citizens in many ways, but the EU legislation is not in the position to respond promptly and adequately to continuous social, administrative and legislative changes at national level. There is still the problem of mutual recognition of qualifications and professional and scientific titles. There is, in truth, the European Commission's Directive addressing this issue, but it only covers a limited number of professions. The differences in wage levels between new and old member states of the EU are sometimes conducive to the introduction of dumping salary rates and improper working conditions. This creates a particular challenge for existing advisory services at the old external borders. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS Lack of information or insufficient information The existing counselling networks and offers for frontier workers (such as the EURES-CBC) must be sustained, so that it would be possible to provide reliable single-source information for cross-border employees in the future. Sufficient financial resources must be available for the maintenance of these services. Apart from internet portals and standard sources of information, like manuals and brochures, individual counselling must also be available. Standard solutions frequently cannot be applied to the specific situation of an individual cross-border employee. Information must be easily accessible to citizens of the border regions, so the information points should be located as close to the state borders as possible. The digitalisation of administrative procedures cannot hinder access to information for certain groups of people, e.g. those without access to the internet or those without sufficient command of a language. 3
There are different networks and institutions providing information to frontier workers. Better coordination and cooperation between the individual bodies can help to provide uniform and more reliable information and to work out joint solutions to mobility obstacles. A network at European level (eg. based on Grenznetz) can help to raise more awareness for the problems faced by frontier workers. It can foster the exchange of expertise, the use of possible synergies and facilitate the dialogue with the responsible political and administrative bodies. Differences between social security and taxation systems The systematic cooperation of relevant official bodies in neighbouring countries is a vital factor for achieving results that would be visible to the citizens. Regular training sessions and courses in relevant legal regulations valid at the national and EU level may help to decrease the doubts of proper administrative units concerning the manner of interpretation and application of specific regulations. Cross-border cooperation at the political level is an important condition for drawing national bodies attention to the issue of obstacles limiting mobility and the attempts to overcome them. In particular situations bilateral agreements can help to create special and unique regulations applicable to the situation of cross-border employees without the need to unify standard legal solutions in the respective countries. However, in many cases it is just necessary to agree on how to implement the applicable law in order to find a solution. Cultural differences, different languages and education systems Special promotional campaigns may help to make the learning of the language of a neighbouring country more attractive. Staff speaking the language of a neighbouring country to a sufficient degree, will facilitate communication between public administration bodies and the citizens of a neighbouring country. An adequate educational offer with regard to learning the language of a neighbouring country should be already available at the kindergarten level. One should also promote bilingual schools, classes and other institutions providing education in this system. One should prepare special language courses for mobile employees and people looking for work, which would potentially increase their chances to find employment in the neighbouring country. Bilateral contracts and agreements can help to fill in any existing legal loopholes and create new opportunities for interns, trainees and employees. Insufficient level of labour market integration Taking into account demographic change and its expected negative impact on national labour markets, cross-border cooperation can help to develop new regional 4
strategies taking into account the development trends within the cross-border areas, not stopping at the edge of the border. Common monitoring of the labour market and reliable statistical materials provide a basis for the preparation of integrated strategies for the labour market. The availability of appropriate data enables a response to the currently emerging tendencies. Cross-border political dialogue, as well as dialogue between organisations gathering employees and employers, is indispensable to jointly overcome the constantly emerging challenges, such as changes in the demographic structure or lack of a qualified labour force, to the benefit of the entire region. There needs to be a network on mobile work that covers all aspects of mobility and all involved groups. Focusing only on recruitment is not enough. A single organisation for example only the public employment services will not be able to cope with the complexity of the subject and the differing interests. 5
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