Larnaca, Cyprus, 12-13 May, 2026 - Employment and Social Affairs Platform 3 (ESAP 3) project of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), along with members of the ESAP 3-facilitated Western Balkans Network for Tackling Undeclared Work attended the European Labour Authority (ELA) annual conference on declared work 2026 and the meeting of the European Platform tackling undeclared work, held in Larnaca, Cyprus on 12-13 May, 2026.

The two-day event was organized by ELA, marking the 10th anniversary of European Platform Tackling undeclared work. RCC’s ESAP 3 project, upon invitation extended to the Westen Balkans Six (WB6), facilitated attendance of members of the Western Balkans Network for Tackling Undeclared Work.

The event reflected on the achievements of the European Platform in the past ten years, and set  new ambitions towards its transformation into declared, fair and quality work across Europe. It gathered representatives of high-level officials from the European Commission, representatives of labour ministries from and relevant enforcement authorities EU members and enlargement regions, international organisations, and social partners.

Opening remarks were delivered by Cosmin Boiangiu, Executive director of ELA. In his introductory address, Mr. Boiangiu highlighted the importance of declared and fair work and reflected on the past work of ELA and main achievements of the European Platform tackling undeclared work by emphasizing key initiatives that were undertaken in the efforts of tackling undeclared work across the EU. In addition, opening session included welcome remarks by Marinos Moushoutass, Minister of Labour and Social Insurance of Cyprus and Li Andersson, Chair of European Parliament, Employment and Social Affairs Committee (by video message).

The event nurtured open discussions and sharing experiences, as participants had chance to engage through various thematic sessions. The first day of the event consisted of three panel sessions: declared work, a gateway to fair labour mobility and quality jobs; cooperation and impact – reflections on a decade of the Platform tackling undeclared work and effective practices in enforcement, cooperation and capacity building to tackle undeclared work. Day 1 was closed with awards ceremony, which included presentation of the ELA good practices that were recognized as most successful examples of tackling undeclared work in the past period.

Second day of the event, Meeting of European Platform tackling undeclared work, was opened by Mr. Cosmin Boiangiu, while keynote speech was delivered by Mihai-Gabriel Ciobanu, Secretary of state from Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Moldova.

Highlight of second day were two parallel working group sessions dedicated to bridging policy and practice: social dialogue and the role of social partners in tackling undeclared work; and smarter use of data in undeclared work. These working groups provided participants with opportunities for discussion and sharing experiences in relation to cooperation with social partners, joint efforts in tackling undeclared work, use of advanced data and cooperation of enforcement authorities during the implementation of activities directed to tackling undeclared work.