Ref. Ares(2019)7120790 - 18/11/2019
MARIANNE THYSSEN
MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Brussels,
]
8 MOV. 2019
Dear Minister,
I would like to thank you for your letter of 17 September 2019 in which you outline
Denmark’s position regarding the revision of the EU rules on the coordination of social
security systems.
In your letter, you explain that the Danish priorities remain unchanged. In particular, you
express your support for the Commission’s original proposal on the qualifying period for
aggregation of unemployment benefits.
The current rules do not specify a qualifying period for aggregation of unemployment
benefits. This gives rise to legal uncertainty. In practice, the length of the qualifying
period varies from Member State to Member State, with some countries applying a
qualifying period of several months, and others a period of just one day.
The Commission’s proposal sought to remedy the uncertainty that exists under the
current rules by introducing, among other things, a minimum qualifying period of three
months. In other words, the Commission proposed clearer rules that ensured a genuine
link between the unemployed person and the labour market of the Member State paying
the benefits.
The Council’s general approach of June 2018 and the provisional agreement reached in
March 2019 introduce a minimum qualifying period of one month. While this is lower
than the Commission had proposed, it nonetheless constitutes an improvement compared
to the current situation: it provides a clearer rule on the qualifying period for aggregation
of unemployment benefits and a genuine link between the unemployed person and the
labour market of the Member State paying the benefits.
In your letter, you stress the need to achieve, with respect to the revision of the EU rules
on the coordination of social security systems, an agreement of high quality supported by
a broad majority.
Mr Peter Hummelgaard Thomsen
Minister for Employment
Holmens Kanal 20
DK 1060 Copenhagen K
ADDRESS: EUROPEAN COMMISSION, B-1049 BRUSSELS - TELEPHONE: 32.2.295 54 91 - E-MAIL: [email protected]