Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
EU member-state ambassadors have endorsed a provisional agreement to revise the coordination of national social security systems. The updated text seeks to make current legislation clearer, fairer, and easier to enforce.
The revised rules aim to support fair labour mobility by simplifying the understanding and claiming of social security rights for people living or working in another EU country. This provision is expected to enhance freedom of movement, strengthen labour markets, and promote social justice across the Union.
The agreement covers five key areas of social security coordination: unemployment benefits, long-term care benefits, welfare benefits for economically inactive persons, family benefits, and rules for posted workers and people working in multiple member states.
For unemployment benefits, the deal allows individuals seeking jobs in another EU country to continue receiving benefits from their previous country for six months. This period may be extended by the previous country up to the full entitlement period. Additionally, workers who have been employed or self-employed and contributed to the social system for an uninterrupted 22 weeks in a different EU country may receive unemployment benefits from that last country of employment if they meet its eligibility requirements.
The agreement also clarifies long-term care benefits by defining and listing such benefits to improve legal certainty. This aims to facilitate mobility for those needing long-term care and their carers. The European Commission will evaluate these provisions three years after they take effect.