1.The central management shall be responsible for creating the conditions and means necessary for the setting up of a European Works Council or an information and consultation procedure, as provided for in Article 1 (2), in a Community-scale undertaking and a Communuty-scale group of undertakings.
2.Where the central management is not situated in a Member State, the central management's representative agent in a Member State, to be designated if necessary, shall take on the responsibility referred to in paragraph 1.
In the absence of such a representative, the management of the establishment or group undertaking employing the greatest number of employees in any one Member State shall take on the responsiiblity referred to in paragraph 1.
3.For the purposes of this Directive, the representative or representatives or, in the absence of any such representatives, the management referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 2, shall be regarded as the central management.
1.In order to achieve the objective in Article 1 (1), the central management shall initiate negotiations for the establishment of a European Works Council or an information and consultation procedure on its own initiative or at the written request of at least 100 employees or their representatives in at least two undertakings or establishments in at least two different Member States.
2.For this purpose, a special negotiating body shall be established in accordance with the following guidelines:
(a)The Member States shall determine the method to be used for the election or appointment of the members of the special negotiating body who are to be elected or appointed in their territories.
Member States shall provide that employees in undertakings and/or establishments in which there are no employees' representatives throguh no fault of their own, have the right to elect or appoint members of the special negotiating body.
The second subparagraph shall be without prejudice to national legislation and/or practice laying down thresholds for the establishment of employee representation bodies.
[F1(b) The special negotiating body shall have a minimum of three members and a maximum of members equal to the number of Member States.]
(c)In these elections or appointments, it must be ensured:
(c)firstly, that each Member State in which the Community-scale undertaking has one or more establishbments (SIC! establishments) or in which the Community-scale group of undertakings has the controlling undertaking or one or more controlled undertakings is represented by one member,
secondly, that there are supplementary members in proportion to the number of employees working in the establishments, the controlling undertaking or the controlled undertakings as laid down by the legislation of the Member State within the territory of which the central management is situated.
(d)The central management and local management shall be informed of the composition of the special negotiating body.
3.The special negotiating body shall have the task of determining, with the central management, by written agreement, the scope, composition, functions, and term of office of the European Works Council(s) or the arrangements for implementing a procedure for the information and consultation of employees.
4.With a view to the conclusion of an agreement in accordance with Article 6, the central management shall convene a meeting with the special negotiating body. It shall inform the local managements accordingly.
For the purpose of the negotiations, the special negotiating body may be assisted by experts of its choice.
5.The special negotiating body may decide, by at least two-thirds of the votes, not to open negotiations in accordance with paragraph 4, or to terminate the negotiations already opened.
Such a decision shall stop the procedure to conclude the agreement referred to in Article 6. Where such a decision has been taken, the provisions in the Annex shall not apply.
A new request to convene the special negotiating body may be made at the earliest two years after the abovementioned decision unless the parties concerned lay down a shorter period.
6.Any expenses relating to the negotiations referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be borne by the central management so as to enable the special negotiating body to carry out its task in an appropriate manner.
In compliance with this principle, Member States may lay down budgetary rules regarding the operation of the special negotiating body. They may in particular limit the funding to cover one expert only.
Textual Amendments
F1 Substituted by Council Directive 2006/109/EC of 20 November 2006 adapting Directive 94/45/EC on the establishment of a European Works Council or a procedure in Community-scale undertakings and Community-scale groups of undertakings for the purposes of informing and consulting employees, by reason of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania.
1.The central management and the special negotiating body must negotiate in a spirit of cooperation with a view to reaching an agreement on the detailed arrangements for implementing the information and consultation of employees provided for in Article 1 (1).
[X12. Without prejudice to the autonomy of the parties, the agreement referred to in paragraph 1 and effected in writing between the central management and the special negotiating body shall determine:]
(a)the undertakings of the Community-scale group of undertakings or the establishments of the Community-scale undertaking which are covered by the agreement;
(b)the composition of the European Works Council, the number of members, the allocation of seats and the term of office;
(c)the functions and the procedure for information and consultation of the European Works Council;
(d)the venue, frequency and duration of meetings of the European Works Council;
(e)the financial and material resources to be allocated to the European Works Council;
(f)the duration of the agreement and the procedure for its renegotiation.
3.The central management and the special negotiating body may decide, in writing, to establish one or more information and consultation procedures instead of a European Works Council.
The agreement must stipulate by what method the employees' representatives shall have the right to meet to discuss the information conveyed to them.
This information shall relate in particular to transnational questions which significantly affect workers' interests.
4.The agreements referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall not, unless provision is made otherwise therein, be subject to the subsidiary requirements of the Annex.
5.For the purposes of concluding the agreements referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3, the special negotiating body shall act by a majority of its members.
Editorial Information
X1 Substituted by Corrigendum to Council Directive 94/45/EC of 22 September 1994 on the establishment of a European Works Council or a procedure in Community-scale undertakings and Community-scale groups of undertakings for the purposes of informing and consulting employees (Official Journal of the European Communities L 254 of 30 September 1994).
1.In order to achieve the objective in Article 1 (1), the subsidiary requirements laid down by the legislation of the Member State in which the central management is situated shall apply:
where the central management and the special negotiating body so decide, or
where the central management refuses to commence negotiations within six months of the request referred to in Article 5 (1), or
where, after three years from the date of this request, they are unable to conclude an agreement as laid down in Article 6 and the special negotiating body has not taken the decision provided for in Article 5 (5).
2.The subsidiary requirements referred to in paragraph 1 as adopted in the legislation of the Member States must satisfy the provisions set out in the Annex.