The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers have agreed on a new Work Life Balance Directive, which will provide a better future for all European citizens.

The new directive, led and negotiated by Maltese MEP David Casa, will introduce new rights for European parents and carers.

It will introduce:

• 10-day paternity leave remunerated at not less than the national sick pay level;
• four months of parental leave of which two months will be paid and non-transferable;
• the right to request flexible working arrangements; and
• five-day carers leave for those who needed to take care of relatives.

Mr Casa, who is also the EPP group coordinator in the Committee for Employment and Social Affairs, said that what was agreed upon would not only translate into a better quality of life for citizens but would also increase productivity and help reduce the gender employment gap, gender pay gap, and gender pension gap.

“I believe that the right balance between employees’ rights and employers’ expectations has been achieved.”

He expressed satisfaction that a Maltese MEP led the directive saying that although Malta was the smallest EU state, it had proved it could deliver.

Mr Casa has been working on this directive since October 2017, when he was chosen as the lead negotiator for the European Parliament on the directive.

The next step is for the Parliament’s plenary to vote on the final agreement in the coming weeks. After that, the directive should start being adopted by governments in all EU states.