WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE : COUNCIL CONTEMPLATES SECOND-READING DEBATE.

At the end of Social Affairs Council, on 17 December, French Minister of Labour Xavier Bertrand made it clear that there are possibilities for a breakthrough in the impasse over the Working Time Directive between the European Parliament and the Council. "Considering on-call time, there is room for manoeuvre. A new form of wording might not be problematic for some member states," said Bertrand, the current president of the Employment Council, who added: "The status quo of the directive is not satisfactory for anyone. Neither for workers, nor for companies. For me, the best solution would be to go into conciliation as fast as possible.aIt is possible to replay a match and I hope it will...