Commission refers Belgium to the Court of Justice for failing to provide common rules for non-EU workers

Background:

The Directive was designed to facilitate legal migration, introducing simplified procedures and a common set of rights for non-EU workers. The Single Permit Directive complements other EU measures on legal migration, such as the EU Blue Card, the Intra-Corporate Transferees and Seasonal Workers' Directives. It does not harmonise admission conditions for labour immigrants, which remain in the hands of the Member States.

Belgium failed to meet the initial transposition deadline in December 2013 and was yet to fully implement the Directive. A letter of formal notice was sent in March 2014 and a reasoned opinion in April 2015. In November 2015, the Commission decided to refer the country to the ECJ, but that referral was put on hold in April 2016 due to additional information provided by Belgian authorities. Since then, full transposition did take place, hence the fresh referral.

The European Commission decided on 13 July 2017 to refer Belgium to the European Court of Justice for failing to fully implement the Single Permit Directive [Directive 2011/98/EU].

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