On the 18th of February, Eurodiaconia in cooperation with the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI) held a breakfast meeting on labour mobility, discussing risks and opportunities of seeking jobs abroad. The meeting was hosted in the European Parliament by MEP Jean Lambert (Greens/EFA), and gave NGOs, MEPs and social service providers the chance to discuss the growing barriers EU mobile citizens face on a daily basis to access social and public services in some EU member states, as well as the strategies to facilitate the engagement of trade unions and NGOs.
The breakfast meeting saw a record participation of stakeholders, and helped the attendees to know more about the European Commission package of legislative measures to address labour mobility, and the different point of views of the political groups within the European Parliament.
In the final Q&A session, the participants discussed the outcomes of trade unions and diaconal organisations across Europe. A majority stressed the fundamental role of cross-border cooperation, providing people about to move to another EU state with complete and transparent information about their rights and the differences between the social service systems.