04/11/2021 (Agence Europe) – Some 30 EPP MEPs have written to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in an open letter published on Thursday 4 November, to alert her to the risk that is posed by the application of the Working Time Directive 2003/88/EC to certain professions, in particular to fire fighters and the armed forces. Indeed, in a 2018 judgment, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) equated volunteer firefighters with ordinary workers, thereby making it impossible to combine this activity with another job, they argued. Similarly, a 2021 CJEU judgment threatened the functioning of the military. This situation creates “legal uncertainty” for “millions” of citizens and jeopardises the security of Member States, said MEPs, who have called for a revision of the directive so that exemptions are introduced. To read the letter: https://bit.ly/3BXfdbj (PH)