Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time (codified version)" (COM(2002) 336 final — 2002/0131 (COD))
Date: 2002-09-18
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: arrangement of working time, codification of EU law, humanisation of work, occupational safety, organisation of work

14.3.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 61/123

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European
Parliament and of the Council concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time
(codified version)’

(COM(2002) 336 final — 2002/0131 (COD))

(2003/C 61/20)

On 19 July 2002, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 137
of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Economic and Social Committee decided to appoint Ms Giacomina Cassina as rapporteur-general for
its opinion.

At its 393rd Plenary Session (meeting of 18 September 2002), the Economic and Social Committee
adopted the following opinion by 68 votes to none with one abstention.

1.
The Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament
and of the Council concerning certain aspects of the organis-
ation of working time (1) is the codified version of directives
93/104/EC (2) and 2000/34/EC (3).

The codification process is a response to the need to
2.
make the Community’s legislation a source of legal certainty,
as
in
indicated by
December 1992.

the Edinburgh European Council

3.
The simplification and codification of texts is not a new
concern. Back in April 1987, the Commission decided to
to codify legislation after no more than
instruct its staff

ten amendments. Last year, the Commission (4) published a
programme aimed at speeding up the codification of the
corpus of Community legislation.

4.
If possible, laws ought to be codified as soon as the first
amendments are made. In the case of the directive concerned
by this opinion, the codification follows the Court of Justice
ruling (5) on the action brought by the United Kingdom in
1994, confirming the legal basis and amending Article 5.

A codification must not make any changes to the content.
5.
Having examined the proposal, which combines the texts of the
two directives named in point 1 in a logical manner and makes
them clearer, the Committee believes that the text in question
fully upholds this basic principle and has no issue to raise.

( 1) COM(2002) 336 final.
( 2) Council directive of 23 November 1993 concerning certain

5.1.
The Committee therefore endorses the proposal and
hopes tosee its swift approval by the Parliament and the Council.

aspects of the organisation of working time.

( 3) Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of
22 June 2000, amending Council Directive 93/104/EC concerning
certain aspects of the organisation of working time to cover
sectors and activities excluded from that Directive.

(4) COM(2001) 645 final of 21.11.2001 ‘Communication from the
Commission to the European Parliament and the Council —
Codification of the acquis communautaire’

(5) Judgment of 18 November 1996 (Case C-84/94).

Brussels, 18 September 2002.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS