A provisional EU agreement was reached on Tuesday evening on the regulation establishing a single digital platform for the declaration of posted workers, defined as an individual who is temporarily sent by their employer to provide services in another member state.

The agreement between the Council of the EU under the Cyprus presidency and the European Parliament marks one of the first deliverables of the competitiveness roadmap ‘One Europe, One Market’, Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Rauna said.

“A more autonomous Union is a more competitive Union,” she pointed out.

The reform was identified in the Single Market Strategy as one of the top ten obstacles to intra-EU mobility, also known as the “terrible ten”.

The ‘One Europe, One Market’ roadmap was signed in Cyprus in April, on the sidelines of the informal EU summit.

The digital platform for posted workers is the first measure in this framework and has met the June deadline.

The regulation provides for the full digitalisation of the submission of posting declarations, reducing the administrative burden for businesses, while making it easier for national authorities to check compliance with the relevant directive.

Energy Minister Michael Damianos said the agreement was “an important step towards a more integrated and competitive Single Market”, removing obstacles and creating a “more transparent framework for cross-border services for the benefit of businesses, workers and administrations”.

The Commission estimates that the use of the electronic standard form can save companies up to 73 per cent of the time currently needed on average in the EU to complete posting declarations, with the cost reduction estimated at 58 per cent.

This could rise to 81 per cent if all 27 member states participate.

According to data from the European Labour Authority, there are around 3.6 million postings in the EU, involving around 2.6 million workers, of which around 1.2 million work in two or more member states.

The interim agreement now needs to be formally approved and officially adopted by the EU institutions.