EC Asks Netherlands To Revise Restrictions On Romanian Employees Temporarily Dispatched For Work

The press release says that if Dutch authorities do not reply satisfactorily to this request within two months, the Commission may refer the matter to the Court of Justice.

„Under Dutch rules, businesses must obtain work permits for certain staff members before they can be temporarily posted to the Netherlands to perform services. This applies to staff members from Bulgaria and Romania, as well as to staff members from non-EU countries who live and work legally in the Member State of their employer,” the EC says.

The Commission considers that the work permit requirement constitutes a breach of the rules of the EU Treaty regarding the freedom to provide services.

The Commission’s request is in the form of a „reasoned opinion” – the second stage of the infringement procedure according to article 258 of the EU Treaty.

„The posting to the Netherlands for the purposes of a service contract of workers from Bulgaria and Romania by businesses established in a Member State other than the Netherlands is still subject, in certain cases, to the obligation to obtain work permits,” the press release explains.

This rule applies to workers employed by an EU business and posted to an undertaking owned by the same group in the Netherlands. This is also true for workers who are employed by a temporary employment agency established in an EU Member State and who are temporarily posted to the Netherlands in performance of a service contract (so-called „cross-border hiring out of workers”).

The EC goes on to point out „the granting of work permits depends on an assessment of the situation on the Dutch labor market. This means the Dutch authorities may refuse to grant a work permit and check whether the posts in question could be occupied by workers entitled to preferential treatment before issuing the permit. The Accession Treaties with Bulgaria and Romania contain no derogation for the Netherlands regarding the freedom to provide services involving the posting of workers. The possibilities for the Netherlands to depart from the Treaty concern only the free movement of workers (Article 45) and not the posting of workers in connection with the provision of services (Article 56).”