By implementing the proposals of the Communication on steps towards digital social security the responsible Commissioners Valdis Dombrovskis and Nicolas Schmit want to realise the goal of the EU policy programme on the Digital Decade, according to which all important public services should be available online by 2030. The Communication also refers to the data on cross-border mobility in the EU: in 2021, 16 million people from an EU/EFTA state lived in another EU/EFTA state, 235 million people had a European Health Insurance Card, 6 million people received a cross-border pension and 3.6 million so-called A1 certificates were issued for posted workers.

Finalisation of the EESSI, ESSPASS, Single Digital Gateway and Digital Wallet projects
The Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (EESSI) is used to exchange information between national social security institutions. The system has been available since 2019 and according to the Commission Communication, 16.5 million cases have already been processed. However, EESSI is not yet fully implemented in all countries. In its Communication, the Commission calls on Member States to make EESSI fully operational by the end of 2024 at the latest. By December 2023, the Single Digital Gateway for citizens and businesses should also be fully developed, which should provide online access to the most important administrative procedures

The European Social Security Pass (ESSPASS) project is to be further expanded. Currently, ESSPASS is still in a pilot phase in which 12 Member States, including Austria, are participating. Through ESSPASS, hospitals, for example, are to be able to check in real time whether a health insurance card is valid. In the case of controls by the labour inspectorate in the context of postings, ESSPASS should make it possible to check A1 documents in real time. Other important projects mentioned in the Communication are the European Digital Identity and the Digital Identity Wallet,  which should make it possible to store, retrieve and share identity documents, like the A1 certificate or the European Health Insurance Card digitally (e.g. on a smartphone).

Additional financial resources are also to be made available for the projects in the area of the digitalisation of social insurance through various EU programmes. The European Labour Authority (ELA) is to be more closely involved and organise a regular exchange of experience between national authorities. Other projects mentioned in the Communication are the development of a European Tracking Service for Pensions, a uniform e-Declaration for postings and the continuation of a 2023-2025 project in the construction sector for Interoperability between Labour and Social Identity Cards of different countries.

AK: Using digitalisation also as support in the fight against social and wage dumping
In AK’s opinion, the digitalisation of projects of the EU Commission is to be supported in principle in the interest of employees and citizens. For Austria, being one of the Member States with the most posted workers in the EU, fair competition with controls and functioning cross-border cooperation between the authorities is particularly important. The digitalisation of A1 certificates and possible controls in real time with the help of ESSPASS by labour inspectorates can make an important contribution in the fight against social and wage dumping. Increased involvement of the European Labour Authority in the cooperation between the authorities of the Member States is also to be welcomed. However, on their own, the digitalisation steps proposed by the Commission will not be able to solve the problem of wage and social dumping.

With this in mind, a new DGB study also analyses social security abuse regarding the issuing of A1 certificates. The problem is that up to now it has been legal to apply for an A1 certificate only after starting work in the country of employment. In addition to the EU Commission's reform proposals on ESSPASS, the DGB therefore proposes "a uniform design of the application for the A1 certificate and the posting notification in an easy-to-use digital system, the strengthening of the binding nature of the A1 certificate through a binding advance application and obligation to carry it as well as the clear identifiability of those involved". From AK’s point of view, it should also be added that workers should be employed by a company for at least three months before they can be posted, which can serve as an additional protective measure against wage and social dumping.

Further information:
EU Commission: Press release proposes steps towards digital social security
EU Commission: FAQ Digitalisation in social security coordination
DGB: Securing social security across borders (Only in German)
AK Vienna: Persistent in the fight for fair competition (Only in German)