Governments water down intern directive: protections extended to only a quarter of interns

Brussels – The legislative pathway for the Quality Traineeships Directive that the European Commission proposed in March 2024 goes forward but loses some pieces: member states reduce its potential scope, limiting the increased protections to only a quarter of the more than 3 million young European trainees who do an internship every year. Of which about half do it for free.

Today (June 19), the Polish presidency of the EU Council placed the dossier back on the table after being sidelined following five failed attempts to get the text approved by the previous six-month presidency held by Hungary. Twenty-one capitals backed the compromise, enough to decree its approval. Spain, Slovenia, Estonia, and Germany voted against, while Austria and the Czech Republic preferred to abstain.

In particular, Spain explained that it could not support the Council’s stance “because it was too far removed from the initial objectives.” Madrid denounced the “very limited scope that leaves out sectors with more false traineeships,” the absence of the “principle of non-discrimination of trainees,” and “training obligations for companies.” These terms “could consolidate bad practices instead of avoiding them.” In the round-table discussion during which the ministers expressed their views, Slovenia said it was “disappointed” by the “lack of interest of member states” in seeking a more ambitious common position.

For the EU Council, the directive should apply only to trainees in an employment relationship – to improve their conditions – and to those who have ‘false’ traineeships in a bid to combat abusive practices. On the other hand, all traineeships in education or active labor market policies are left out – “due to their specific legal frameworks.” The position the Council adopted revolves around the specificities of national systems and seeks to ensure the broadest possible flexibility for member states: no obligation to introduce a specific employment relationship for trainees in national legislation and freedom to choose the measures to be taken to combat bogus traineeships, which “should be based on national law or practice.”

The European Commission’s executive vice president in charge of education, culture, and labor, Roxana Mînzatu, admitted that she “would have liked to see greater ambition regarding the people covered by the directive.” The goal trumpeted by Brussels, to put an end to free traineeships, is a long way off. However, Mînzatu does not lose faith that the text can be improved “in future negotiations with the European Parliament.”  The European Parliament has not yet adopted its own negotiating position on the directive.

After months of negotiations, on April 8, the opinion of the Culture Committee (CULT) was approved, which will contribute to the text that will emerge from the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) and which will then have to be voted on by the entire Strasbourg Chamber. The opinion, drafted by Nicola Zingaretti, leader of the Democratic Party delegation, sets some red lines: a written and paid contract for all traineeships, a defined duration, concrete training content, and real coherence between the tasks performed and the training course.

According to the former Dem secretary, the position approved today by the member states “is not only generic” but “profoundly insufficient and unbalanced.” The decision of “limiting oneself to countering false internships recognized as employment relationships” is a “conscious political choice” that “leaves the most vulnerable young people uncovered, those engaged in internships linked to training, active employment policies, and the school-to-work transition.” Zingaretti appeals to the European Parliament, which “now has a huge responsibility” and must not “accept downward compromises” during negotiations with the EU Council.