BEERG Newsletter 31 - EWCs: What problems will EU enlargement bring?

EU enlargement is back on the agenda. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has changed geopolitical calculations and the EU as a “peace project” has taken on a new relevance. 

There is talk of 2030 being the target date for the accession of new countries. EU membership could jump from 27 to around 35, with the arrival of countries such as Ukraine, Georgia, Moldovia, and countries from the Western Balkans. 

A recent report from a Franco-German study group outlines a range of options and ideas for making an enlarged EU work efficiently HERE.

2030 is only six years away. Not a long time. We remember back in 1993 discussing with European officials at a meeting in Dublin what they thought were the chances of the EWC Directive being adopted. At the time the EU consisted of just 12 Member States. How would we manage the diverse industrial relations cultures of the 11 who would be covered? Those were the days when the UK had opted out of post-Maastricht EU social policy developments and so would not be covered by the EWC Directive. Except that UK companies were covered in they had enough employees in the EU outside the UK to be in scope. The British have always been difficult Europeans.

Today we are at 27 and the problems of managing an EWC with potentially representatives from 27 countries are already complex, especially if interpretations is required, which it nearly always is. If, as the Franco-German report referenced above, thinks governance changes are needed to allow the EU to function correctly with a membership of 35, then the same must be true of EWCs. What was doable at 12, because impossible at 35. 

This is something we need to start thinking about now while we still have time to plan ahead properly. What will a further round of enlargement mean for EWCs, how can it be managed, is there anything we should be doing now?

One question that does need to be answered is this. If you have kept UK representatives on your EWC, representatives from a country that has taken a conscious decision to leave the European Union, how do you refuse seats on your EWC to representatives from countries that are pushing hard to join and may soon be on a glidepath to membership? 

What do we know about labour relations in the candidate countries? What sort of structures and institutions are in place. Do they have trade unions of any significance? What sort of labour relations cultures will they bring to the table? What is the footprint of multinationals in these countries? How easy will it be for them to adopt the European employment law acquis? What needs to be done now to help them prepare for laws such as the GDPR, Pay Transparency, and the suite of Directives with information and consultation obligations?

Maybe start by mapping out the labour relations “on the ground” situation in these countries today.