Brussels, 26/09/2006 (Agence Europe) - Jeremy Smith, Secretary General of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) expressed concern in a press release about the current situation that was “too confused” about working time in the EU, “There is a serious risk that Europe's local and regional governments, and therefore European citizens, end as the main losers”. He also affirmed that “The working time directive has a direct impact on every municipality and region of Europe…because these constitute one of the biggest employers in the whole of Europe…because the issue of the definition of working time applies to local and regional services such as health care, police and the fire brigade”. Noting that the European Commissioner for social affairs Vladimir Spidla had threatened to take Member States to the Court of Justice if they did not respect European directives, Mr Smith called on the Council to arrive at a rapid clear and reasonable agreement on working time (EUROPE 9270 on the subject of the European Ombudsman's report on the affair of the German doctor who has been calling on the Commission to submit a complaint against Germany since 2001).