On Friday 23 November, the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU obtained a renewed, but limited, mandate on carer's leave and parental leave in view of the forthcoming negotiations with the European Parliament on the Work Life Balance Directive (see EUROPE 12141).
On carer's leave, the Austrian Presidency has obtained a total period of five days per year, but without any specific remuneration. However, according to two sources, the mandate would essentially include the introduction of a remuneration after 5 years at the latest (2 years for transposition and 3 years for implementation), the level of which would be left to the discretion of the Member States.
As for parental leave, the Austrian Presidency has obtained an extension to 2 months of non-transferable paid leave. The Council therefore seems to be taking a step towards Parliament. The Parliament, for its part, has taken a step towards the Member States by reducing the non-transferable paid leave period from 4 months to 3 months.
On paternity leave, the proposal put forward by France, Portugal and Spain (see EUROPE 12137) would have allowed progress to be made at the last interinstitutional meeting. As a reminder, the proposal is to align the remuneration of paternity leave with the level of maternity leave in accordance with the national legislation in force.
The next trilogue negotiation is scheduled for Monday 3 November. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)