The Council and the European Parliament met for the first time on Wednesday 12 September on the highly contentious directive on work-life balance to exchange respective positions and agree an initial timetable for inter-institutional talks.
Seeking to reach a speedy conclusion on the issue, the pace set by the two institutions is sharp. The next meeting is scheduled for 8 October, followed by a third on 8 November and a fourth on 19 November. The timescale is ambitious, particularly as the negotiations are likely to be particularly difficult, admits Parliament rapporteur David Casa (EPP, Malta), who is expecting clashes with the Council (see EUROPE 12020), given the distance between the respective positions.
The two institutions will go head-to-head on the level of paid leave, whether paternity, parental or carer leave, with the Council opting for greater flexibility, calling only for adequate remuneration (see EUROPE 12046) whereas Parliament has called for paid leave of 80% of gross salary (see EUROPE 12060).
MEPs have agreed a non-transferable period of four months, compared with the Council’s two months, with one and a half months of that remunerated. The child’s upper age limit for parents to be able to claim flexible working arrangements has been set at 10. Here, too, the Council has preferred to remove any mention of an exact age. In addition, MEPs want to broaden the range of those who can claim carers’ leave to include people who care for family members up to the second degree of kinship or affinity. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)