Bodies to promote equal treatment and to support Union workers and members of their family

1. Each Member State shall designate one or more structures or bodies (‘bodies’) for the promotion, analysis, monitoring and support of equal treatment of Union workers and members of their family without discrimination on grounds of nationality, unjustified restrictions or obstacles to their right to free movement and shall make the necessary arrangements for the proper functioning of such bodies. Those bodies may form part of existing bodies at national level which have similar objectives.

2. Member States shall ensure that the competences of those bodies include:

providing or ensuring the provision of independent legal and/or other assistance to Union workers and members of their family, without prejudice to their rights, and to the rights of associations, organisations and other legal entities referred to in Article 3;

acting as a contact point vis-à-vis equivalent contact points in other Member States in order to cooperate and share relevant information;

conducting or commissioning independent surveys and analyses concerning unjustified restrictions and obstacles to the right to free movement, or discrimination on grounds of nationality, of Union workers and members of their family;

ensuring the publication of independent reports and making recommendations on any issue relating to such restrictions and obstacles or discrimination;

publishing relevant information on the application at national level of Union rules on free movement of workers.

In relation to point (a) of the first subparagraph where bodies provide assistance in legal proceedings, such assistance shall be free of charge to persons who lack sufficient resources, in accordance with national law or practice.

3. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the names and contact details of the contact points and any updated information or changes thereto. The Commission shall keep a list of contact points and shall make it available to the Member States.

4. Member States shall ensure that existing or newly created bodies are aware of, and are able to make use of, and cooperate with, the existing information and assistance services at Union level, such as Your Europe, SOLVIT, EURES, Enterprise Europe Network and the Points of Single Contact.

5. Where the tasks referred to in paragraph 2 are allocated to more than one body, Member States shall ensure that those tasks are adequately coordinated.

DIRECTIVE 2014/54/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 16 April 2014 on measures facilitating the exercise of rights conferred on workers in the context of freedom of movement for workers