Organisation of working time

The Council held extensive discussions on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council directive aimed at amending Directive 2003/88/EC concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time, on the basis of a set of compromise texts tabled by the Presidency.

The Presidency acknowledged the positive spirit which prevailed during the discussions and noted that significant progress had been made in identifying possible elements for an agreement. However, the Presidency regretted that, given the differences in labour market situations in the Member States and the complexity of the new provisions, it was not possible to reach overall agreement at that stage.

the key issues still to be resolved relate to the opt-out provision as well as to the question of whether the maximum weekly working time is calculated per contract or per worker.