Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council

(Limited Text - Ministerial Extracts only)

Thursday 21st March 2019 Written Statements

[The Minister for Employment (Alok Sharma)]

The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council took place on 15 March 2019 in Brussels. I represented the UK.

The Council agreed a partial general approach regulation on the European globalisation adjustment fund (EGF).

The Council debated the social dimension of Europe post-2020 and the European semester. As part of the semester agenda item, the Council adopted the joint employment report for 2019, along with conclusions on the 2019 annual growth survey.

There were a number of progress reports and information items during the Council. The presidency gave updates on six current legislative proposals: regulation establishing a European labour authority; revision of the regulations on the co-ordination of social security systems; revision of the directive on carcinogens and mutagens (third batch); and directives on work-life balance, on accessibility requirements for products and services and on transparent and predictable working conditions.

The Council closed with information on events and initiatives in the broader field of employment and social policy.

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