The EU Rules & Initiatives
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EU adopted the Regulation (EC) 883/2004 on Coordinating Social Security System, followed by an implementing Regulation (EC) 987/2009.

The current Regulations:

• lay down common rules to protect social security rights when moving within the EU (as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).
• recognise that EU countries decide on aspects such as the beneficiaries of their social security systems, levels of benefits and eligibility conditions.
• do not replace national systems by a single European system.

The regulation covers all the traditional branches of social security, namely:

• sickness
• maternity and paternity
• old-age pensions
• pre-retirement and invalidity pensions
• survivors’ benefits and death grants
• unemployment
• family benefits
• accidents at work and occupational illness.

Beneficiaries are guaranteed that their benefits will be paid, that they will be covered for healthcare and that they will receive family benefits even if they move to another EU country.

Beneficiaries:

• are covered by the legislation of a single country and pay premiums in that country — the organisations managing social security decide the legal jurisdiction to which they belong (principle of single applicable law);
• have the same rights and obligations as nationals of the country in which they are covered (principle of equal treatment or non-discrimination);
• are guaranteed that previous periods of insurance, work or residence in other countries will be taken into account in the calculation of their benefits (principle of aggregation of periods);
• can, if they are entitled to a cash benefit in a country, collect this benefit if they do not live in that country (principle of the exportability of benefits to all EU countries where the beneficiary or family members reside).

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European Labour Authority

The Regulation (EC) 883/2004 was amended by the Regulation (EU) 2019/1149 establishing a European Labour Authority.

The principle of free movement of workers is enshrined in Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
The regulation establishes a body designed to help ensure fair labour mobility across the EU and support the coordination of social security systems and brings together the technical and operational tasks of several existing EU bodies:

• the EURES European coordination office;
• the technical committee on the Free Movement of Workers;
• the Committee of Experts on the Posting of Workers*; and
• the European Platform tackling undeclared work.

Objectives and tasks
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The ELA’s objectives are to:

• ensure easier access to information on rights, obligations and services regarding labour mobility across the EU;
• improve cooperation between countries to enforce the relevant laws across the EU, including joint inspections;
• mediate and facilitate solutions where there are disputes between countries; and
• support cooperation between EU countries to tackle undeclared work.

The ELA is responsible for:

• improving the availability, quality and accessibility of information of a general nature offered to individuals, employers and social partner organisations regarding rights and obligations in relation to labour mobility;
• supporting EU countries in providing services to individuals and employers through EURES, such as cross-border matching of job, traineeship, and apprenticeship vacancies with CVs;
• facilitating the cooperation and rapid exchange of information between countries;
• coordination and supporting concerted* and joint* inspections;
• cooperating with EU countries to assess risks and carry out analyses on labour mobility and social security coordination;
• supporting EU countries to build capacity for consistent enforcement of relevant EU law, for instance through mutual assistance and training, including developing common guidelines;
• reinforce the work of the European Platform to enhance cooperation in tackling undeclared work to share best practices, develop expertise and analysis and encourage innovative approaches;
• mediating in and facilitating solutions to disputes between EU countries to reconcile divergent points of view.

Organisation
The ELA administrative and management structure consists of a management board, an executive director and a stakeholder group.

The management board comprises:

• 1 member from each EU country,
• 2 members representing the European Commission,
• 1 independent expert appointed by the European Parliament (without voting rights),
• 4 members representing cross-industry social partner organisations (without voting rights), with equal representation of trade unions and employer organisations.

Representatives of countries applying EU law within the scope of ELA, the EU agencies Eurofound, EU-OSHA, Cedefop or the European Training Foundation may be invited to participate as observers in meetings of the management board.

Fundamental rights
The regulation does not affect the exercise of fundamental rights as recognised at EU and national level, including the right or freedom to strike or to take other action covered by the specific industrial relations systems in EU countries in accordance with national law or practice.

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​To claim unemployment benefits in your country

You must register with the employment services and claim unemployment benefits in the country where you last worked: Directory to find a contact institution

You reside in another EU Country (or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland)?

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​A. You returned there daily, or at least once a week

In this case, you  must register with the employment services and claim benefits in the country where you reside. This is the situation of some cross-border workers, called "frontier workers" in the EU regulations. You may also register, as a supplementary step, with the employment services of the country where you worked and look for a job there, but the benefits will still only be paid by your country of residence.


B. You return there less than once a week,

You may choose to return to your country of residence or to stay in the country of last employment and register with the employment services and claim benefits in the country where you decide to look for employment. You may also register, as a supplementary step, with the employment services of the country not providing the benefits. This is typically the situation of seasonal workers.