In order to protect the right to balance between work and private life in all member states, the European Commission has decided to continue with proceedings and has sent reasoned opinions to as many as 11 member states for failing to timely inform them about national measures that fully transpose the rules establishing the aforementioned right to balance.
Namely, the EU has adopted a series of legislative acts that introduce minimum rights for EU citizens that allow for the combination of work with family obligations, among which is the ‘Directive on Work-Life Balance’. The directive is linked to the European Care Strategy, which aims to provide everyone in the European Union with access to quality and affordable care and to improve the position of recipients and providers of formal and informal care.
However, the directive was adopted back in 2019, and member states were required to transpose it into their national law by August 2, 2022. Last September, the Commission issued an official warning to as many as 19 states for ‘failure to inform’ about the measures for transposing the directive into national law.
After analyzing their responses, the Commission found that the Directive has not yet been fully transposed in 11 member states and therefore decided to take the next step in infringement proceedings and send reasoned opinions to Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Austria, and Slovenia. These member states now have two months to take measures to comply with the reasoned opinion. Otherwise, the Commission may refer cases against them to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
