Malta to hold firm on working time

Malta is expected to inform the new EU Presidency today that it opposes the European Parliament's recent decision to end the opt-out from the Working Time Directive.

The island will insist that member states maintain the common position reached between them last June, which is that the revision of the directive regulating working time should continue to allow opt-outs so that workers can work longer than 48 hours a week.

Malta will officially communicate its stand during an informal EU meeting at state secretary level to be held in Prague, where the island will be represented by Parliamentary Secretary Joseph Cassar.

According to the EU Treaty, the Council of Ministers, representing member states, has four months to react to the EP's vote. The two institutions than have a maximum of eight weeks to convene a conciliation committee, which would have a further eight weeks to either find a compromise or decide that agreement is impossible.

"Despite the negative vote in the EP, Malta will stick to its position and push for the balanced compromise reached between member states in June," a government source said.

"Malta needs a flexible working environment, particularly in the tourism and health sectors. If overtime is curbed in these two main areas of Malta's economy, we will be hit hard and the economy will suffer," the source noted.

The government is aware that that the status quo option is difficult to maintain following the vote by MEPs that went diametrically against the member states' position. Only a minority of countries, including the UK, want to keep the opt-out.

"We have to see whether the blocking minority we used to be part of in the past is still there," the source said. "Many member states change their position from time to time as governments change, so we have to wait and see to learn whether the EP's position can still be blocked."

The Czech EU Presidency, which took the reins of the EU earlier this month, is eager to conclude the matter before the June elections.

"The Czechs are keen to ensure that the conciliation committee completes its work before Parliament breaks up in May for the European elections," EU sources said.

In fact, apart from today's meeting in Prague and another informal ministerial meeting next week that will discuss the issue, the Czech Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, Petr Necas will be meeting the EP's rapporteur on the issue Alejandro Cercas to discuss the launch of the conciliation process.