Proposal for a Council Decision amending Council Directive 2010/18/EU because of the change in status of Mayotte

By Decision 2012/419/EU, the European Council amended the status of Mayotte with regard to the European Union with effect from 1 January 2014. Therefore, from this date, Mayotte will cease to be an overseas territory and will become an outermost region of the Union within the meaning of Articles 349 and 355(1) TFEU. Union law will apply to Mayotte from 1 January 2014.

This proposal is in response to a request from the French authorities for a modification of the Union acquis by way of deferred implementation of Directive 2010/18/EU of 8 March 2010 implementing the revised Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC and repealing Directive 96/34/EC.

This request for postponement is objectively justified in the light of the specific economic situation of the island of Mayotte:
- The jobs market is underdeveloped and the employment rate is low for an active population totalling 43,200 people.
- 15% of total employment is still in traditional industries (agricultural food production, crafts and small-scale commerce), comprising subsistence activities.
- Per capita GDP is 30% less than the EU average.
- The French authorities plan to increase social rights gradually in order to avoid any economic destabilisation of the island. The planned increase in contributions is therefore to be very slow, with the alignment of contributions on those generally applicable to be staggered up to 2036.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)413: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:413:FIN

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