New study examines the legal basis for an EU Right to Training

New study examines the legal basis for an EU Right to Training

Brussels, 15 September 2026 – A new independent legal study commissioned by the European Employers’ Institute (EEI) has been published, exploring whether the EU may, through a binding act of secondary law, establish a general right to training enforceable against the employer.

The study, The Right to Training in European Union Law: A legal study on the constitutional limits of EU action under Article 166(4) TFEU, authored by labour law professor and researcher Duarte Abrunhosa e Sousa, draws on a wide range of legal resources in reaching its conclusions, including the four binding EU directives that touch on training (on occupational safety, procedural information, transparent working conditions, and platform work), as well as a line of Court of Justice case law on legal-basis selection.

The conclusion is that no general right to vocational training currently exists in EU law, and none may be created at EU level without breaching the express harmonisation prohibition in Article 166(4) TFEU. The study finds that the existing directives touching on training do so only instrumentally, anchored in Article 153 TFEU objectives, and that none creates a freestanding individual entitlement to training as such.
The study also explores the diversity of national approaches to training across the Member States. It offers a more nuanced, evidence-based reading of a genuinely varied landscape, noting that many Member States combine more than one regulatory approach.

Training and reskilling remain a continued priority for the banking sector, supported by existing sectoral and collective arrangements across Member States.

For more information, check the Press release, as well as the executive summary, or the entire study below.

Read the full study here 

For more information:

Sébastien de Brouwer, Deputy CEO – s.debrouwer@ebf.eu 

Claudia Boboc, Intern – Social and International Affairs – c.boboc@ebf.eu 

About the EBF:

The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations from across Europe. The federation is committed to a thriving European economy that is underpinned by a stable, secure, and inclusive financial ecosystem, and to a flourishing society where financing is available to fund the dreams of citizens, businesses and innovators everywhere.