Brussels, 29/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - The Transport Council will resume on Monday, 2 October, its debate on the harmonisation of working conditions in road transport, a subject the French Transport Minister, Jean Claude Gayssot, has made a priority of his Presidency. The European Commission, in its communication on "Safer and More Competitive Quality Road Transport in the Community", proposes a number of measures meant to break the deadlock in debate on hauliers' working time, before the Council since 1998 (see EUROPE of 22 June, page 11). On the basis of these new proposals, the Presidency is asking Ministers whether there is a need for: 1) a specific directive on working time for hauliers, 2) temporary exclusion of self-employed hauliers from this directive (the main point of divergence), 3) modification of the current directive on rest breaks for hauliers, 4) introduction of a certificate guaranteeing that drivers from third countries have been recruited under legal social conditions (there is already agreement in the Council on this point), 5) compulsory continuing training for drivers, 6) reinforced controls on motorways.