30 April 2026
On Tuesday, 28 April, the European Commission published a Communication on a simpler, clearer and better-enforced EU rulebook. The initiative aims to improve the quality of EU legislation and enhance its enforcement.
The Communication announces a ‘simplicity by design’ approach to every proposal, aiming to provide greater clarity on who must act, how to comply with the rules, and the consequences of non-compliance. In parallel, the Better Regulation framework will be improved to enhance transparency, stakeholder involvement and efficiency. This will include a more extensive use of impact assessments with a better assessment of costs, as well as the optimisation of public and targeted consultations, for example, avoiding holiday periods. Additionally, the Regulatory Scrutiny Board will review a broader set of proposals.
A new Action Plan will address inconsistencies and overlaps in the EU acquis, removing outdated rules and simplifying existing provisions. This work will begin with 12 priority areas for 2026 and 2027, including the free movement of goods and services, financial services, taxation, energy and housing.
To avoid gold-plating, the Commission will work with Member States and provide them with a toolkit and best practices to avoid this practice in the transposition and implementation of EU rules. At the same time, the Commission will strengthen enforcement of the Single Market rules in selected policy areas, with a focus on reducing the high number of long-standing infringement procedures.
The Commission also calls on the European Parliament and the Council to ensure the consistent application of the ‘simplicity by design’ and better regulation principles throughout the legislative process.
Contact: Raquel Carro-Andollo
On 27 April, SGI Europe took part in the kick-off meeting of the VOICE project (Valorising Organised Initiatives for Competitiveness and Employment), bringing together partners and stakeholders in Brussels for the first time in the framework of this new project. The meeting marked an important step in launching a new phase of joint work, providing an opportunity for partners to exchange on the project’s structure and priorities, and to align on how best to achieve our shared objectives.
The project aims to strengthen the meaningful involvement of social partners in the European Semester and related EU policy coordination processes. Building on the findings of the previous SHAPE project, VOICE seeks to address the persistent gap between formal consultation and effective participation of social partners across Member States. It focuses on enhancing capacity, improving the quality of social dialogue, and fostering more structured and impactful engagement in the design, implementation, and monitoring of reforms, while promoting the exchange of good practices at the EU and national levels.
SGI Europe is a partner in the project and leads the work package on the operationalisation of the free movement of knowledge in the EU. This work will focus on areas where social partners can have a concrete and practical impact, in particular skills development, talent retention, labour mobility, and public-private cooperation in research and innovation. Alongside this, the project will also address key challenges linked to artificial intelligence and the just transition through dedicated social partner dialogues.
Contact: Cecilia Martin
On 24 April 2026, the European Commission (DG JUST) held a workshop with social partners to take stock of the implementation of the Pay Transparency Directive.
The discussions confirmed the Commission’s firm position. The directive is seen as a major step forward to strengthen the enforcement of equal pay through transparency and individual rights. The transposition deadline of June 2026 remains unchanged, with infringement procedures expected if delays occur. While the Commission signalled openness to technical support and further guidance, it clearly reiterated that all national systems, including those based on collective agreements, must deliver effective, demonstrable equal-pay outcomes.
The exchange also highlighted significant implementation challenges across Member States. Key areas of uncertainty remain, notably regarding the scope of “pay”, the concept of “single source”, and the practical application of “work of equal value”. Participants also raised concerns about the complexity of the EIGE job evaluation toolkit and its practical usability.
Trade unions took a particularly firm stance, opposing any flexibility in implementation and strongly rejecting the idea of a presumption of compliance for collective agreements. Employers, while supporting the objective of equal pay, stressed the risks associated with administrative burden, legal uncertainty, and the potential disruption of well-functioning collective bargaining systems.
Several SGI Europe members actively contributed to the discussion, providing concrete examples of ongoing implementation challenges and reinforcing the need for legal clarity and proportionate solutions.
Overall, the workshop confirmed a central tension: while objectives are shared, reconciling the directive’s transparency and enforcement logic with existing national and sectoral frameworks will remain a key challenge in the months ahead.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
The European Parliament has adopted its interim report on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034, setting out its priorities for a budget that better responds to citizens’ expectations and emerging geopolitical, economic and social challenges.
MEPs call for a more ambitious EU budget, capable of delivering on competitiveness, cohesion, security and preparedness, while ensuring flexibility to respond to crises. The report also supports streamlining funding instruments, strengthening the link with the European Semester, and introducing new own resources to ensure a stable financial base.
A central element of the Parliament’s position is the proposed European Competitiveness Fund, seen as a key tool to strengthen the EU’s long-term investment capacity. MEPs aim to align industrial policy, research, and innovation better to support the green and digital transitions while reinforcing resilience and open strategic autonomy. They stress that the Fund must deliver clear European added value, avoid overlaps with existing programmes, and remain balanced with a strong cohesion policy, ensuring continued involvement of regional and local actors.
These orientations broadly resonate with SGI Europe’s position, which supports a more strategic EU budget while emphasising that the Competitiveness Fund should focus on projects delivering genuine EU added value, including cross-border spillovers and long-term returns. SGI Europe also calls for transparent and inclusive governance, with safeguards to preserve the partnership principle and avoid excessive centralisation. In this context, services of general interest remain central to resilience and preparedness, requiring stable investment across key sectors such as energy, water, healthcare, housing and transport.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
On 23 April 2026, the European Labour Authority (ELA) presented its new study on the long-term care (LTC) sector at a high-level conference in Madrid, hosted by the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Economy. The event brought together key institutional representatives, including Cosmin Boiangiu, ELA Executive Director; Yolanda Díaz Pérez, Second Vice-President of Spain and Minister of Labour and Social Economy; and Stefan Olsson, Deputy Director-General at DG EMPL.
The study identifies several structural challenges affecting the sector. Key pressure points highlighted in the report and presented at the conference include:
Widening labour gap. The demand for care workers is increasing faster than employment in the sector, largely driven by demographic ageing. While social, technological and institutional innovation is ongoing, it has not yet fully compensated for these increasing pressures.
Challenging working conditions. The report highlights persistent challenges related to working conditions, including relatively low pay, irregular working hours and the physically and emotionally demanding nature of care work. These factors, combined with an ageing workforce, may have implications for occupational health and safety.
Evolving recruitment practices. The study highlights the growing use of informal recruitment channels, such as word of mouth, social media, and online platforms. While these tools can facilitate matching between workers and employers, they may also raise concerns regarding access to rights and social protection.
Undeclared work and cross-border complexities. The report also draws attention to the prevalence of undeclared work, particularly in home-based care, and the complexities associated with cross-border employment arrangements. These dynamics can pose challenges for both workers and regulatory oversight.
The study acknowledges the existence of good practices and policy measures across Member States. These include initiatives by public authorities and social partners to improve information and compliance, such as multilingual online portals, dedicated helplines and targeted awareness-raising campaigns for both workers and employers. Examples highlighted in the report include Austria’s multi-channel support approach for live-in care workers, Germany’s “Faire Mobilität” advisory network, and dedicated platforms in France that provide guidance to private employers.
However, the report states that these practices remain unevenly developed across Member States and calls for continued efforts, in particular to address persistent information gaps affecting mobile EU and EFTA workers, as well as third-country nationals.
Contact: Astrid Nordberg
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