L 168/24 Official Journal of the European Union 30.6.2009 DIRECTIVES DIRECTIVE 2009/52/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 18 June 2009 providing for minimum standards on sanctions and measures against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 63(3)(b) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee ('), Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (%), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (), Whereas: (1) The European Council meeting of 14 and 15 December 2006 agreed that cooperation among Member States should be strengthened in the fight against illegal immi- gration and in particular that measures against illegal employment should be intensified at Member State and EU level. (20 A key pull factor for illegal immigration into the EU is the possibility of obtaining work in the EU without the required legal status. Action against illegal immigration and illegal stay should therefore include measures to counter that pull factor. (3)  The centrepiece of such measures should be a general prohibition on the employment of third-country nationals who do not have the right to be resident in () OJ C 204, 9.8.2008, p. 70. () O] C 257, 9.10.2008, p. 20. (’) Opinion of the European Parliament of 4 February 2009 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 25 May 2009. the EU, accompanied by sanctions against employers who infringe that prohibition. (4)  As this Directive provides for minimum standards, Member States should remain free to adopt or maintain stricter sanctions and measures and impose stricter obligations on employers. (5)  This Directive should not apply to third-country nationals staying legally in a Member State regardless of whether they are allowed to work in its territory. Furthermore, it should not apply to persons enjoying the Community right of free movement, as defined in Article 2(5) of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) (¥). Moreover it should not apply to third-country nationals who are in a situation covered by Community law, such as those who are lawfully employed in a Member State and who are posted by a service provider to another Member State in the context of the provision of services. This Directive should apply without prejudice to national law prohibiting the employment of legally staying third-country nationals who work in breach of their residence status. (6)  For the specific purposes of this Directive, certain terms should be defined and such definitions should be used only for the purposes of this Directive. (7)  The definition of employment should encompass its constituent elements, namely activities that are or ought to be remunerated, undertaken for or under the direction and/or supervision of an employer, irrespective of the legal relationship. (8)  The definition of employer may include an association of persons recognised as having the capacity to perform legal acts without having legal personality. (4 O] L 105, 13.4.2006, p. 1.