WRITTEN QUESTION E-2712/99 by Pernille Frahm (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Working time directive.
Date: 2000-01-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Denmark, national implementing measure, working time

C 280 E/110

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

3.10.2000

(2000/C 280 E/114)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2712/99

by Pernille Frahm (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(18 January 2000)

Subject: Working time directive

1.
How can the Commission, after confirming in a letter of 10 May 1993 from Commissioner Padraig
Flynn to the principal organisations in Denmark, that EU directives could be implemented via the Danish
collective bargaining system (the content of this letter forming part of the basis for the decision to adopt
the motion for adjournment on 30 November 1993 retaining the Danish collective bargaining model as
the basis for implementing EU directives etc.), now send a letter of
formal notice to the Danish
Government claiming that Denmark(cid:146)s implementation of the EU Working Time Directive is not, in the
Commission(cid:146)s view, in compliance with the Union Treaty?

2.
Has the Commission altered its view between the time Mr Flynn(cid:146)s letter was sent and the time the
Commission sent its letter of formal notice to Denmark on the implementation of the Working Time
Directive? If so, what caused the Commission to change its view? Was the Commission(cid:146)s endorsement of
the political validity of Denmark(cid:146)s implementation of directives via the Danish collective bargaining system
of 10 May 1993 influenced by the fact that one week later the Danes were to vote in their second
referendum on the Treaty on European Union?

3.
Can the Commission confirm that, when it sent its letter of formal notice to Denmark regarding the
implementation of the Working Time Directive, there had not been a single case of the parties involved in
the implementation of the Working Time Directive in Denmark via collective bargaining ever having been
unable to achieve the results prescribed in that Directive (see the Agreement by 11 Member States in the
Union Treaty)?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(3 March 2000)

The letter of the Commissioner who was in charge of Employment and Social Affaires to which the
Honourable Member refers to states that one way of implementing directives could be by (cid:145)duly notified
collective agreements at national level and that legislation will be taken into consideration as a last resort
and as a safety valve(cid:146). This is in line with Article 137(4) (ex Article 118) of the EC Treaty, which clearly
states that collective agreements can be used as a means of implementing directives. Furthermore, the
Court of justice has laid down certain conditions should collective agreements be used as the only means
to implement a directive or certain provisions of a directive (1). In this context, the essential condition is
that all workers within the scope of the directive are covered by its provisions.

The position of the Commission and the relevant Community law, as interpreted by the Court of

1.
justice, have not changed since the time the letter was sent in 1993.

2.

The Commission has received two complaints from Danish trade unions on the matter.

(1) Case 143/83 Commission v. Denmark [1985] ECR 427. See also e.g. Commission v. Italy [1986] ECR 2291.

(2000/C 280 E/115)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2716/99

by Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Human rights violations in Iran

(18 January 2000)

What is the volume of EU exports to Iran and imports from Iranian companies into the EU economic
area? Is the Commission aware of any arms transfers from EU Member States to Iran?