Presidency in bid to revise working time directive

The Portuguese presidency is working behind the scenes to secure an agreement on EU working time rules, as the change of administration in France has improved prospects for a deal.

Bilateral talks are being held with a number of national delegations to begin work on a new compromise deal that would be signed off at a meeting of employment ministers in December.

The Portuguese presidency is the fifth to tackle revisions to the blocked directive, which were proposed by the European Commission in 2004. France, Italy and Spain blocked attempts by the Finnish presidency to seal a deal in November. They had wanted to see firmer commitments on ending the UK opt-out from the original 1996 directive.

Current rules limit weekly working time to 48 hours over a period of six months. Under the Finnish proposal, the 48-hour weekly average would have been calculated over a longer reference period of up to 12 months while the maximum working week was to be limited to an average of 60 hours over a three-month period in all member states, including the UK.

It is thought that French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has already talked of relaxing rules on the 35-hour working week in his own country, could adopt a softer position on the UK opt-out. A new French position is likely to spark a change of heart in countries such as Italy and Spain, said a Swedish diplomat.

Any new deal would have to make allowances for the UK opt-out. UK Employment Minister Pat McFadden signalled in a debate at the House of Commons last month that there would be no change in his government’s stance.

According to the Swedish diplomat, the Portuguese presidency is expected to seize the opportunity to rally national ministers around a new compromise at a lunch to be held in Lisbon next month (13 September) as part of a conference on flexicurity.

The European Parliament is also keen to see an agreement brokered by the end of the year. Spanish Socialist MEP Alejandro Cercas, who drafted Parliament’s opinion on the directive in 2005, will discuss options with the Portuguese Employment Minister José Vieira Da Silva on 12-13 September. An impact assessment on the implementation of the directive is to be discussed at a forthcoming meeting of Parliament’s employment and social affairs committee on 12 September.

In parallel, the Commission is still examining whether to take legal action against member states not applying the directive properly. An official said that in view of the Portuguese presidency’s efforts, the Commission was "moving ahead carefully with legal procedures".

"We are in touch with the presidency and we support their efforts to find a compromise," she said.

The Portuguese presidency is working behind the scenes to secure an agreement on EU working time rules, as the change of administration in France has improved prospects for a deal.