On Friday 25 January, the Permanent Representatives Committee of the European Union (Coreper) gave the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU room for manoeuvre for the next negotiating session with the European Parliament (trilogue) on the directive on transparency and predictability of working conditions.
On Monday 28 January at the next trilogue, the Romanian Presidency will have some flexibility on the working time threshold below which the Directive does not apply, up to four hours per week.
The Romanian Presidency had initially proposed three hours, but was not able to find a majority. As a reminder, the Council's initial position on the subject provides for five hours a week, i.e. 20 hours a month, whereas the European Commission proposed eight hours a month, and the European Parliament the removal of any threshold.
In addition, the Presidency of the Council has obtained a margin of manoeuvre on the deadline for the transmission of essential information related to the employment contract (identity of the parties, place of work, start date of the employment relationship, duration of the trial period, etc.), which should be provided between the first working day and at the latest on the seventh day. As a reminder, the European Parliament would like the essential information to be provided in writing no later than the first day worked (see EUROPE 12120).
On the other hand, Coreper has not changed the Romanian Presidency's mandate on the definition of workers, which, for the Member States, is a matter for national law. However, the Parliament and the European Commission want to introduce the case law of the European Court of Justice.
This is bad news for trade unions, which the day before had again called on Member States to adopt a progressive position on the issue (see EUROPE 12179). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)