France has long tried to stem the number of foreign workers able to work in Western Europe for lower salaries while paying taxes in their home countries, calling it “social dumping.” Depicting the current system as a “betrayal” of EU values, Macron wants posted workers’ contracts limited to one year instead of two, and for similar jobs to get similar pay, something that would undermine the competitive advantage for employers who currently avoid paying high social charges in France. [...]
Out of 1.9 million such workers, about 420,000 are Poles, the highest number from any EU country, according to the European Commission. They largely work in building trades and seek employment in wealthy countries such as France, Austria and Germany. Even though such workers account for less than 1 percent of the EU’s workforce, they have become a target in many countries worried about low-wage competition from Central Europe. [...]
In Austria, Macron met with the prime ministers of Slovakia and the Czech Republic, seeking to undermine the common position on posted workers of the Visegrad Group, a bloc that also includes Poland and Hungary. He made progress, winning cautious backing for his reform plans from the Slovaks and the Czechs.
In return, Macron acknowledged both countries’ distaste for the EU program of allocating asylum seekers among member countries. [...]
Although France has turned a cold shoulder to Warsaw over concerns about rule of law, and Macron showed no interest in including Poland in this week’s regional tour, MP Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade, vice president of the French parliament’s European affairs commission, said that behind the scenes, Macron has close relations with President Andrzej Duda, with whom he has spoken three times since taking office.
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