Working time directive talks near collapse

Talks between MEPs and EU member states on the revision of the controversial working time directive are close to collapse following another unsuccessful marathon session yesterday.

Sources close to the negotiations, which ended in the early hours of Thursday morning, said a deal was now very unlikely.

The main bone of contention remains the opt-out clause which allows member states to go beyond the directive's capped overtime limit of eight hours a week.

The European Parliament delegation, led by Socialist MEP Mechtild Rothe, stuck to its insistence that overtime must be limited, with the aim of improving workers' quality of life.

But governments forming the EU Council want to retain the possibility of opting out so their work force would remain flexible and their workers allowed to work as many extra hours as they want to.

Malta has been arguing in favour of the opt-out position for the last four years, insisting that the island needs a flexible working environment particularly in the tourism and health sectors. The government's position is supported by trade unions and employers.

The impasse favours Malta's position since the amended directive cannot go through if talks collapse. The proposal would have to be scrapped and Malta would continue to fall under the current opt-out rules, at least for a few more years, until some agreement is reached between the member states and MEPs.

Malta is one of the 15 EU member states which make use of the opt-out. Last December, the EP voted for the phasing-out of the opt-out after a transitional period of three years. All Maltese MEPs, both Nationalist and Labour, voted against the proposal.

Under the current EU decision-making system, where a compromise is needed between the EP and Council, negotiators from both sides still have the possibility of clinching a deal in a final meeting before the end of Parliament's term in May.

If they fail, the legislation will be discarded after more than four years of laborious talks.

In that scenario, which according to Commission sources is very likely, the process will have to re-start from scratch with the Commission having to come up with fresh proposals, followed by years of further negotiations.

Ms Rothe yesterday accused member states of wanting to keep the status-quo of unlimited overtime. She insisted that the EP had a mandate to abolish the opt-out clause and this must be respected.

The EP wants to hold another conciliation meeting later on this month as a last chance of an agreement. However, according to the Socialist MEP, the EU Council Presidency has not accepted the proposal and wants to continue the negotiations informally.

On the other hand, the European Commission said it regretted the fact that no compromise was reached over this important issue. It said no real movement was shown by either side to find a compromise.

EU Employment Commissioner Vladimir Spidla said he still hoped that both sides would now reflect on the situation as the lack of agreement was not a long-term solution.

"There is still a small chance of agreement. I call on both the European Parliament and the Council to take their responsibilities and find the political will to reach an agreement. It will require compromise from all sides. The Commission will continue to play its role as honest broker and provide all the support and advice it can to reach a suitable compromise," Mr Spidla said.