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Article

The legal framework

European employment policy

European Union employment policy comprises all EU policies contributing to the promotion of employment. Its main goal is the creation of more and better jobs throughout the EU. Articles 145 - 150 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) serve as the legal framework for EU action in this field.

Article 148 of the TFEU stipulates that the European Council and the European Commission shall consider the employment situation in the Union and the member states and adopt conclusions thereon on the basis of a joint annual report. In line with these conclusions, the Council of the European Union, on a proposal from the Commission, draws up the employment guidelines. Among other things, these guidelines set the framework for the permissibility, scope and orientation of political coordination in the area of employment policies at the European level. The member states are called upon to align their employment policies with the guidelines.

Here is a list of the current employment guidelines:

  • Guideline 5: Boosting demand for labour
  • Guideline 6: Enhancing labour supply and improving access to employment, skills and competences;
  • Guideline 7: Enhancing the functioning of labour markets and the effectiveness of social dialogue;
  • Guideline 8: Promoting equal opportunities for all, fostering social inclusion and combatting poverty

European social policy

One of the EU’s goals is to establish a social market economy aiming at full employment and social progress. This goal is laid down in Article 3 (3) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). Furthermore, the EU protects its citizens’ fundamental social rights. EU citizens can invoke the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, including the fundamental social rights it contains. These rights include fundamental workers’ rights such as the right to healthy, safe and decent work, the right to social security and the right to inclusion for persons with disabilities.

However, due to the principle of subsidiarity, the EU can only become active on issues that the member states cannot adequately tackle alone. This means that in the field of social policy the EU has significantly fewer powers than in other policy areas. Article 4 (2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) describes this as shared competence of the EU and the member states for social policy. The EU supports and complements the activities of the member states while respecting the principle of subsidiarity. For example, the EU can advance EU-wide harmonisation on many labour law aspects through minimum standards. The details are spelled out in Articles 153 and 157 of the TFEU. However, the EU may not set the basic principles for social security systems. Rather this is the domain of the individual EU member states.

In addition to the adoption of legal provisions, other tools for shaping European social policies are cooperation between member states, the coordination of their action in all social policy fields (Articles 153 (2) and 156 TFEU) and social dialogue at the EU level enshrined in Articles 154 and 155 TFEU.