The European Social Security Passport is an instrument to protect the rights of workers in the European Union, MEP Vasile Blaga (PNL, EPP) told for CaleaEuropeană.ro on Monday.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution at last week’s plenary session in Strasbourg calling on the European Commission to speed up the procedures for introducing the European Social Security Passport.
“This passport will play an extremely important role especially for mobile workers in the EU and will actively contribute to the fight against social fraud and undeclared work. Moreover, it will make it much easier to protect the rights of workers and their social security contributions. At the same time, this passport will be an extremely useful tool in simplifying and streamlining bureaucratic and administrative procedures in the area of the mobile labour market”, said EPP MEP Vasile Blaga.
He pointed out that the number of Romanian workers circulating in the European labour market is extremely high and drew attention to the many cases where Romanian workers have been abused, had their fundamental rights ignored by employers in other countries or have not been paid social security.
“This passport can be a first step in protecting their rights much more rigorously across Romania’s borders in the European Union. The complexity of implementing the European Social Security Passport comes from the fact that it will have to take into account all the particularities of the national social security systems, while not becoming a condition for exercising free movement”, added the EPP MEP.
The European Parliament has asked the European Commission for a legislative proposal on a European social security passport before the end of 2022, to reduce the administrative burden on mobile workers.
In a resolution adopted on Thursday by 598 votes to 59 with 38 abstentions, MEPs urged the European Commission to speed up plans for a European Social Security Passport (ESSP) to facilitate the portability of social security rights for mobile workers.
The European Social Security Passport will allow real-time verification of mobile workers’ data by the national authorities of the Member State where they intend to work. It will help combat social fraud and undeclared work, while making it easier to track and claim workers’ social security rights and contributions.
