Brussels, 02/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - The second conciliation meeting on the working time directive in Brussels on Wednesday 1 April (10 hours long and finishing at 4 in the morning) ended in failure. No consensus between the European Parliament and the European Council could be found on the most sensitive points: the opt-out, standby and fines. Faced with such an impasse, the vice president of the EP and president of the EP delegation at the conciliation committee, Mechtild Rothe (PES, Germany) invited the Council to a third conciliation meeting on 20 or 21 April, which will be, “the last chance to find a compromise on this very important question before the June European elections”.
An EP press release affirmed that the “working time” directive is on the agenda of the last plenary session of this legislature on 4 May. If the conciliation committee does not obtain a compromise or if Parliament and the Council do not approve a “joint text”, the proposed legislation will fall by the wayside. The European Commission will also have to present a new proposal to clear up the sensitive points and the new legislation will have to take into account decisions by the European Court of Justice that deem standby is working time.
Ms Rothe told the press that the Wednesday 1 April meeting “was very important because for the first time we took the time to discuss the opt-out”. No opportunity of finding an agreement on this point arose and Parliament wants to do everything in its power to complete matters by 28 April (conciliation is for six weeks, the first meeting was held on 17 March - EUROPE 9864 for the results of this meeting). Mechtild Rothe noted that, “a lot of difficulties had been encountered because the Council still wants to participate in an informal trialogue after Easter (EP-Council-Commission)…We asked the Council for another conciliation meeting but the Council has not responded. I am therefore calling on the Council to take part in a new conciliation on 20 or 21 April”. The president of the parliamentary delegation added that, “it is true that the situation is difficult but the problems encountered by the Czech presidency and which will perhaps no longer be there in two weeks' time, should not influence the work of the European Parliament and the lives of European workers. As a negotiating delegation for the EP, we do not think all hope is lost. We have the time to do it and the possibility exists for doing it”.
In reply to a journalist concerned about the presence of the Czech presidency, Rothe declared, “we are negotiating with the Czech presidency of the Union and the minister representing this presidency. It is possible that Petre Necas will no longer be there at the next conciliation meeting. A trialogue is expected to be organised with the Ambassador of the Czech presidency, a meeting which will, in any event, take place after Easter. But this is not enough. An agreement with the Council is necessary. We need the conciliation committee for exploring the different solutions”. Ms Rothe hammered home the need for “optimism”.
Parliament negotiators obtained a clear mandate with the plenary's announcement in December last year on the non-participation or opt-out clause, standby and the question of multiple contracts. Ms Rothe concluded that, “we want a global agreement that respects this mandate but not at any price”. (G.B./trans/rh)