Europaudvalget 2015-16
EUU Alm.del Bilag 577
Offentligt
2016/025
Paris, February 17, 2016
Dear Fellow Chairs,
On, Wednesday May 18, 2016, the European Affairs Committee of the French
National Assembly will hold an inter-parliamentary meeting bringing together
representatives of the national parliaments and of the European Parliament on the issue of
corporate social responsibility (CSR) and on the question of the posting of workers.
The idea is that by dealing with these subjects, the consideration of social rights
can be encouraged in the context of the activities of European companies and their
responsibility in this field both within the Union and in other countries can be highlighted.
The French National Assembly has expressed its voice on each of these topics
by means of resolutions. It has pleaded in favour of a concrete implementation of the social
dimension of the European project which would be coherent with the political priorities
announced, in particular by the President, Jean-Claude Juncker.
Indeed, the national approaches to CSR, as well as those based solely on the
good will of companies, as useful as they may be, do not fulfill the requirements of the
globalization of supply chains from the human rights point of view as well as from a social
and economic development point of view in addition to the protection of the environment.
In its resolution of June 25, 2015, adopted upon the initiative of the European Affairs
Committee, the French National Assembly thus considered it necessary for CSR to be
strengthened in European law, by including obligations in the field of companies corporate
vigilance concerning their business relations, their subsidiaries, their sub-contractors and
their suppliers, as is proposed by the main directors of the OECD and of the United Nations.
Nonetheless, the content of these obligations must be detailed, as well as their field of
application and indeed the sanctions which would be imposed if they were not respected.
This inter-parliamentary meeting will be the opportunity to bring together our ideas and to
bring our points of view closer in the perspective of the “green card” project which I
presented on this subject.
To the chairs of the relevant national parliamentary standing committees
 EUU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 577: Interparlamentarisk møde i Paris 18/5-16 om virksomheders sociale ansvar og udstationering af arbejdere
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The European Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly has been
strongly involved in the fight against fraud concerning workers posted abroad and was, in
addition, at the origin of several pieces of work on this subject (fact-finding missions,
debates in plenary sitting, members’ bills) which sought not only to have an impact on
changing the 1996 directive on workers posted abroad but also to have included in national
positive law, provisions aiming at a better monitoring of such fraud. It appears today, whilst
the Commission once more envisages revising the directive on the posting of workers, that
we must remain vigilant to ensure that such a revision does not lead to a backward step both
from the point of view of legal or illegal wage competition between states (let us remember
that President Juncker has directly called for the implementation of the principle “for equal
work, equal pay”) and in the field of the workers themselves to whom we owe the idea of
dignified working conditions. The parliamentary meeting will thus be an opportunity to
have the discussion progress on this major issue in the development of the social dimension
of the Union and in the future of European construction.
It is my pleasure to invite you to this meeting which will take place between
9.30am and 5pm on May 18, 2016. The invitations cover two legislators per Chamber,
representing the various committees concerned as well as two civil servants.
The morning (9.30am-12.30pm) shall be given over to corporate social
responsibility (CSR) and after a buffet lunch, the afternoon shall deal with the subject of
worker posting. The meeting shall take place at the French National Assembly (Salle
Lamartine, 101 rue de l’Université, 75007 Paris).
The sessions shall take place in French and in English (there shall be
simultaneous translation facilities available for four other languages according to the
requests which are made – the payment of the interpreters shall be ensured by the parliament
which makes the request).
I would ask you in advance to confirm your participation, or that of your
representative, before April 5, 2016, to the secretariat of the European Affairs Committee,
by mail to the following address:
[email protected]
Yours sincerely, dear colleague,
Danielle AUROI