Framework agreements are the result of the European social dialogue autonomous process. To date the European social partners have concluded different cross-industry framework agreements under Articles 154 and 155 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
Two different procedures exist for their implementation:
- either the European social partners ask the Council to adopt a decision (in practice, this is a directive, proposed by the Commission). In this way, the agreement becomes part of EU law. Three agreements have been implemented by Council Directive , the parental leave (1996) and revised text in 2008, the part-time work (1997) and fixed-term contracts (1999) agreements.
- or the European social partners have concluded a new generation of ‘autonomous’ agreements, whereby the social partners themselves take responsibility for implementing measures at national, sectoral and enterprise level. Such agreements are known as "autonomous agreements". Four autonomous agreements have been negotiated, the telework (2002), the work-related stress (2004), the harassment and violence at work (2007) and inclusive labour markets (2010).
Agreements implemented by Council Directive
- Framework agreement on parental leave (revised) (2009)
- Framework agreement on fixed-term contracts (1999)
- Framework agreement on part-time work (1997)
- Framework agreement on parental leave (1996)
Autonomous agreements implemented by Social partners
- Framework agreement on inclusive labour markets (2010)
- Framework agreement on harassment and violence at work (2007)
- Framework agreement on work-related stress (2004)
- Framework agreement on telework (2002)
