Woefully inadequate

According to Open Europe, The Guardian reports that David Cameron and Angela Merkel have reached a compromise which would involve "examining the implementation of the EU’s Working Time Directive" (WTD) in return for UK support for changes to the EU Treaties, proposed by Germany.

The article notes that the UK will table two demands: first, maintaining the right to opt-out of the 48-hour working week. Second, reversing the European Court of Justice’s Simap and Jaeger rulings on rest periods and “on call” time, which have caused severe problems for the NHS. However, unlike Treaty negotiations, where every member state has a veto, the WTD is decided by qualified majority voting, which means that supporters of the directive, such as France, could form a “blocking minority” to challenge any attempts to reform.

This is beneath pathetic on two levels.

First, it seeks limited change in one delineated area in exchange for treaty changes which would open wide new vistas on EU economic governance. (If you want to go down that route, what about fisheries policy, for instance?)

So as a strategy it is pathetically unimaginative and timorous.

Second, on a tactical level, it seems to be handing over a concession in return for an area being examined. Blair made the same mistake with Sarkozy, giving concessions in return for reform to the Common Agricultural Policy being looked at - and nothing changed. Of course.

If this is our government's opening position, no wonder we're about to be stitched up again.

The government will have only itself to blame.