Members of parliament from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine are gathering in Brussels for the 7th Euronest (EU-Neighbourhood East Parliamentary Assembly) to discuss regional security, foreign direct investment and fighting corruption and money laundering.

As a member of the European Parliament’s delegation to Euronest, GUE/NGL’s Jiří Maštálka (KSČM, Czech Republic) is the co-rapporteur for a 2018 report that calls for greater social rights for workers, in particular on tackling informal and undeclared labour and enhancing social security of employees. He said of the gathering:

“I have been involved in the Eastern Partnership project since the very beginning in 2009. Unemployment and violent conflicts force people to leave their homes and find work where they can, including abroad. These people often become undeclared workers: hired for unskilled work and without any social protection. Tackling undeclared work is a joint challenge for EU member states and Eastern Partnership countries, joint cooperation is therefore needed.”

“In this respect, we call on all member states and the Eastern Partnership countries to develop a common framework for social security coordination in order to safeguard the social security entitlements of mobile workers,” he concluded.

The Euronest meeting will continue until 27th June and you can follow a livestream of the plenary session here.