President Emmanuel Macron said that the EU’s Posted Workers Directive which allows companies to send temporary workers from low-wage countries to other EU member states without paying local social charges was a "betrayal of the European spirit".

Macron seeks to drum up support for his plan to overhaul the rule during a three-day diplomatic blitz through eastern and central Europe. The EU rule has come under fire from critics in rich countries, who say it amounts to "social dumping" in which payments to health and welfare systems are avoided.

"The European directive on detached workers in its current format is a betrayal of the European spirit," Macron said in Salzburg at the start of a diplomatic blitz through eastern and central Europe.

“The single market and the free movement of people weren't created to help countries promoting the lowest social rights. This is what stokes populism in our countries," Macron said. “Austria and France are on the same wavelength.”

The directive was launched in 1996 to help stimulate cross-border business activity, however critics argue that the bloc's eastward expansion in 2004 has opened the system to abuse.

Firms in former Communist countries pay much lower salaries, giving them a huge competitive edge when bidding for work abroad. In addition, they don't have to pay into the host nation's social system.

Austria and France are among the bloc's key recipients of temporary employees.

Backed by Germany and Austria, France now wants the duration of these job postings to be limited to 12 months, half the period proposed by the European Commission. However, they have faced resistance from Poland and Hungary. An estimated 500,000 of Polish nationals are employed by Polish companies in other EU member states.

Although the posted workers issue affects less than 1% of the EU's workforce, experts say the trend is on the rise.

"We've firmly expressed our will to find a real compromise in October," Macron said at a press conference. "Our talks mark a real step forward and I'm glad about that."