The European Commission has adopted the Fair Mobility Package that guarantees social rights for workers, regardless of where they choose to live in the EU. Workers will be able to have their professional skills understood everywhere in the EU and prove and claim their social security and health insurance rights.
The new package will also better protect mobile workers from abuse and remove burdensome red tape that hinders companies from recruiting talent. Waiting times for qualifications recognition across the EU will be significantly reduced, down from over a year to just a matter of months. Meantime, national administrations will benefit from more efficient cooperation to enforce workers’ rights and to fight fraud.
Workers can find The European Social Security Pass (ESSPASS) in the Package, which will make social security documents available digitally, making it easier for people and businesses to request them online and prove their rights instantly across EU borders. Real-time checks will help detect fraud and abuse.
The Package also contains The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). The European Health Insurance Card is a free card that allows its owner to access medically necessary, state-provided healthcare while he or she is temporarily staying in any of the 27 EU countries, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom.
During your stay, the owner of the card will receive treatment under the same conditions and at the same cost (which may be free in some countries) as for people insured in that country.
Each member of a family should have its own card.
Nationals of non-EU countries cannot use their EHIC for medical treatment in Denmark, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and the UK.
