The European Union's obligation to ban unpaid internships once and for all could be over. Last year, the European Parliament urged Ursula von der Leyen's Commission to draw up a directive to regulate internships. At the beginning of 2024, a first version of the document on which the European executive was working was leaked, which seems to confirm the Commission's desire to follow up on Parliament's request. Last week the bill was published, which introduces major changes to “improve the working conditions of trainees”, but does not explicitly introduce the obligation to pay. A detail which did not go unnoticed by certain deputies, starting with the Greens group, which pushed for a more ambitious text: “It is a shameful derision: Brussels limits itself to asking States to ensure that companies, instead of paying workers, hire.” with unpaid internships”, attacks MEP Rosa D'Amato.
What does the Commission's proposal include?
The European Commission's legislative intervention on traineeships is actually divided into two different proposals: a directive and a recommendation. The first, which if approved will become binding on member countries, essentially introduces four new elements. The first is the “principle of non-discrimination”, according to which employers are invited to treat interns like any other employee. The second is to introduce controls and inspections to prevent internships from being used by companies to hide regular jobs. The third and fourth innovations concern the possibility of allowing trade unions to also commit to the rights of trainees and asking Member States to guarantee channels through which trainees can report unfair practices and poor working conditions. These four new elements are contained in the proposed directive, which will now have to be discussed by the European Parliament and the Council.
Everything relating to remuneration is found in the proposed recommendation which, unlike the directive, has no binding value for member countries. Among the key elements that Brussels “invites” governments to work on include the introduction of “fair remuneration” for interns, the promotion of “hybrid and remote working” and the preparation of career guidance programs to increase the probability that the internship will turn into a real job. The element of the European Commission's proposal that raises the most eyebrows is precisely the lack of obligation for employers to pay interns. A subject on which the European Commissioner for Labor, Nicolas Schmit, also intervened, who specifies in X: “Why has the Commission not proposed banning unpaid internships? Because this is legally impossible for us!”, emphasizes Schmit. The socialist candidate for the next European elections assures that the Commission has done “its maximum” and explains that it will be up to each government, “when it implements the directive”, to ban unpaid internships.
Data on internships in Europe
According to European Commission data, there are around 3.1 million interns in EU countries, of which more than half (1.6 million) are doing unpaid internships. For the majority of young Europeans, an internship has now become an obligatory step in entering the world of work. According to Eurobarometer 2023, almost four in five young people (78%) have completed at least one internship in their lifetime, and the demand for internships is expected to grow by at least 16% by 2030. The internship problem , to date, it is above all a question of remuneration, which is often insufficient, or even completely absent. According to a study carried out in 2023 by European Youth Forumyoung Europeans pay on average 1,028 euros per month to cover internship expenses.
Cover photo: EPA/Olivier Hoslet | The European Commissioner for Labor, Nicolas Schmit
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