What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on addressing subcontracting chains and the role of intermediaries in order to protect workers’ rights

(2025/2133(INI))

The European Parliament,

Added:– having regard to Articles 16 and 31 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

4 unchanged paragraphs

– having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights,

– having regard to Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/957,

– having regard to Directive 2014/67/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the enforcement of Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System (‘the IMI Regulation’),

– having regard to Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA, as amended by Directive (EU) 2024/1712,

Added:– having regard to Directive 2009/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 providing for minimum standards on sanctions and measures against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals (the Employers’ Sanctions Directive),

Added:– having regard to Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC,

Added:– having regard to Directive (EU) 2024/1760 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on corporate sustainability due diligence and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 and Regulation (EU) 2023/2859,

6 unchanged paragraphs

– having regard to the Commission report of 30 April 2024 on the application and implementation of Directive (EU) 2018/957 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 June 2018 amending Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services (COM(2024)0320),

– having regard to the Commission report of 26 May 2025 entitled ‘Evaluation of the European Labour Authority (ELA)’ (COM(2025)0256),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 3 December 2020 entitled ‘EU strategic framework on health and safety at work 2021-2027 Occupational safety and health in a changing world of work’(COM(2021)0323), including the Vision Zero approach to work-related deaths in the EU,

– having regard to the Commission publication of May 2020 entitled ‘Making Socially Responsible Public Procurement Work – 71 Good Practice Cases’,

– having regard to the ELA report of 2025 entitled ‘Posting of third‑country nationals: Contracting chains, recruitment patterns, and enforcement issues’,

– having regard to the ELA report of February 2023 entitled ‘Cooperation practices, possibilities and challenges between Member States – specifically in relation to the posting of third‑country nationals’,

Added:– having regard to the ELA report of 20 September 2023 entitled ‘Construction sector: Issues in information provision, enforcement of labour mobility law, social security coordination regulations, and cooperation between Member States’,

7 unchanged paragraphs

– having regard to the Europol report of December 2024 entitled ‘Leveraging legitimacy: How the EU’s most threatening criminal networks abuse legal business structures’,

– having regard to Article 10 of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Guidelines on general principles of labour inspection,

– having regard to the ILO Convention concerning Private Employment Agencies (Convention No 181, 1997),

– having regard to the ILO Convention concerning Safety and Health in Construction (Convention No 167, 1988),

– having regard to its resolution of 25 November 2021 on the introduction of a European social security pass for improving the digital enforcement of social security rights and fair mobility,

– having regard to its resolution of 13 March 2025 on social and employment aspects of restructuring processes: the need to protect jobs and workers’ rights,

– having regard to its resolution of 18 January 2024 on the revision of the European Labour Authority mandate,

Added:– having regard to its resolution of 9 September 2025 on public procurement,

– having regard to the La Hulpe Declaration on the Future of the European Pillar of Social Rights from 16 April 2024,

Removed:– having regard to the report of 17 April 2024 by Enrico Letta, entitled ‘Much more than a Market – speed, security, solidarity: empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU Citizens’ (the Letta report),

Added:– having regard to the Val Duchesse Social Partner Summit Tripartite Declaration for a Thriving European Social Dialogue of 31 January 2024,

Added:– having regard to the Commission green paper of 31 January 2013 on unfair trading practices in the business-to-business food and non-food supply chain in Europe (COM(2013)0037),

Added:– having regard to the Commission communication of 29 January 2025 entitled ‘A Competitiveness Compass for the EU’ (COM(2025)0030),

Added:– having regard to the Eurofound Sixth European Working Conditions Survey,

Added:– having regard to the report of 9 September 2024 by Mario Draghi entitled ‘The future of European competitiveness’ (the Draghi report),

Added:– having regard to the report of 17 April 2024 by Enrico Letta entitled ‘Much more than a Market – speed, security, solidarity: empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU Citizens’ (the Letta report),

– having regard to the position paper of 14 February 2025 from the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Latvia and Luxembourg on EU policy priorities for the Commission 2024-2029 and the fair posting of third-country nationals,

Added:– having regard to the judgment of the Court of Justice of 5 April 2017 in Case C-298/15, ‘Borta’ UAB v Klaipėdos valstybinio jūrų uosto direkcija VĮ, relating to public procurement,

– having regard to national strategies to combat labour exploitation, forced labour and undeclared work,

– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection,

Changed:– having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A100000/2025),(A10-0256/2025),

Change 1

Removed:A. whereas labour exploitation and abuse in the EU labour market constitutes a widespread and urgent challenge, manifesting under various terminologies, including but not limited to work-related crime, undeclared work, the grey economy, social dumping, labour exploitation and modern slavery;

Added:A. whereas principle 5 of the European Pillar of Social Rights recalls that regardless of the type and duration of the employment relationship, workers have the right to fair and equal treatment regarding working conditions, access to social protection and training; whereas it also recalls that employment relationships that lead to precarious working conditions should be prevented;

Removed:B. whereas Europol highlights that 86 % of the most threatening criminal networks use legal business structures as part of their criminal activity;

Added:B. whereas the freedom to provide cross-border services is one of the four core principles of the single market and whereas subcontracting is part of the freedom to provide services and the freedom of establishment; whereas the EU needs to preserve and enhance its competitiveness so that businesses can thrive, with a special focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)s; whereas it also needs to create clear and proportionate rules which do not impose unnecessary burdens, and to strengthen enforcement;

Removed:C. whereas a common variable in most sectors at high risk of labour exploitation is high labour intensity combined with a reliance on long and complex subcontracting chains, the presence of abusive labour intermediaries as well as a strong reliance on posted workers, EU mobile workers and third-country nationals;

Added:C. whereas labour exploitation and abuse in the EU labour market constitute a serious problem in high-risk sectors, manifesting in various forms, including but not limited to work-related crime, undeclared work, illegal work, the grey economy, social dumping, labour exploitation and modern slavery;

Removed:D. whereas according to the ELA the posting of third-country nationals is on the rise, with one in four posted workers in 2022 being a third-country national;

Added:D. whereas some sectors have higher risks of labour exploitation and abuse, such as construction, agriculture, hospitality, domestic work, transport and logistics, meat and food processing, cleaning services and care work; whereas women are disproportionately represented in subcontracted and intermediary work in the care, cleaning and hospitality sectors;

Removed:E. whereas subcontracting is a well-functioning and important practice in many sectors, facilitating access to specialised expertise; whereas long and complex subcontracting chains can, however, increase risks related to fraud, criminal infiltration, the occupational health and safety of workers, and to unfair competition for enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);

Added:E. whereas the consequences of labour exploitation and abuse extend beyond workers who are subjected to unfair and unsafe working conditions, inadequate wages, deplorable accommodation and precarious employment, as they also impact enterprises, especially SMEs, which are subjected to unfair competition and distortions of the single market;

Removed:F. whereas some Member States have adopted legislation limiting the length of subcontracting chains in certain sectors; whereas the Commission considers a limitation to the levels of subcontracting and the extension of subcontracting liability to the full chain as a good practice for Member States; whereas there are also enterprises that have voluntarily restricted the length of their subcontracting chains;

Added:F. whereas Europol highlights that 86 % of the most harmful criminal networks use legal business structures as part of their criminal activity, which constitutes a serious threat to fair competition in the single market; whereas analysis by the Commission, as well as operational insights by the ELA, highlight increased risks of labour exploitation and abuse linked to long and complex subcontracting chains, as well as to fraudulent forms of labour intermediation;

Removed:G. whereas the practice of labour intermediation is not defined in law and can take many forms, ranging from larger established companies to individual recruiters, informal brokers and even gangmasters;

Added:G. whereas a common variable in most sectors at high risk of labour exploitation is high labour intensity combined with long and complex subcontracting chains, vertically and horizontally, which undermines transparency, the role of social partners, applicable collective agreements and democracy at work; whereas high-risk sectors are also often associated with a strong reliance on labour intermediaries, posted workers, EU mobile workers and non-EU nationals; whereas some non-standard forms of employment and complex cross-border arrangements may blur responsibilities, impede awareness-raising and complicate the enforcement of applicable labour law and collective agreements, as well as checks on work permits, social security contributions, tax payments and the identity of workers;

Removed:H. whereas labour intermediaries that are neither registered, licensed nor certified are frequently used to obscure and circumvent labour law and employer responsibility;

Added:H. whereas non-compliance with occupational health and safety legislation is a constituent part of labour exploitation, which undermines the Vision Zero approach to work-related deaths as set out in the Commission’s EU strategic framework on health and safety at work 2021-2027; whereas ILO Convention No 167 assigns principal contractors the duty to coordinate occupational safety and health measures;

Removed:I. whereas the process of regulating subcontracting chains and labour intermediaries at national level can be lengthy and difficult for Member States, not least due to legal ambiguities stemming from internal market rules;

Added:I. whereas the presence of fraudulent and criminal actors in European workplaces also presents security risks, particularly when it affects critical sectors such as transport and logistics, construction, energy and healthcare, or activities with access to security-sensitive workplaces, in particular cleaning and maintenance;

Added:J. whereas, according to the Commission and an ELA case-study report, the posting of workers from third countries is on the rise, with one in four posted workers being a third-country national; whereas mobile and migrant workers, including workers from third countries, are especially vulnerable to labour exploitation and work-related crime and often find themselves in a spiral of dependency concerning visas, excessive recruitment fees, travel arrangements and accommodation; whereas third-country nationals tend to be less likely to organise and join a union and experience more difficulties in accessing the justice system and defending their rights;