This decision, taken last September and made public on Wednesday, follows a complaint lodged by the European Youth Forum, with the support of the Youth Forum and the Vlaamse Jeugdraad. This pointed to the existence in Belgium of unpaid internships, outside the school framework. In practice, the Belgian law of July 3, 2005 on the rights of volunteers leads to a generalized use of unpaid internships (outside secondary and post-secondary education), he believes.

The Council of Europe, via the European Committee of Social Rights, followed this argument and confirmed the merits of the complaint, on the grounds that labor inspection is not sufficiently effective in detecting and preventing “wrong steps”. These practices violate the right of workers to adequate remuneration for their insurer, as well as to their families, a decent standard of living, as stipulated in the charter.