Nobody wanted to admit it but now it is certain: the revision of the Working Time Directive has failed and that is not thanks to a majority but based on the decision made by a minority of Member States. The European Parliament was right in not making an uneasy compromise. As a result, the “old” Working Time Directive, with all its positive, but also negative consequences for workers, will remain in force.

Following long and difficult negotiations, the European Parliament decided in its plenary session in Strasbourg this week to draw a line under the so-called “3rd Energy Package”. As is well known, in September 2007 the European Commission had presented comprehensive proposals in order to drive forward the liberalisation of the electricity and gas markets.

On 22nd April, EUROSTAT published its analysis on public finances of the EU Member States. Although the financial crisis only reached the real economy during the fourth quarter of 2008, its impact on the public finances of the EU Member States is already clearly noticeable.

A stir is currently caused in Brussels by a draft of the Commission on regulating so-called “alternative investment funds”, which also include hedge funds and private equity funds. The news portal Euractiv has already published a draft of the Commission proposal on its homepage, which was only supposed to be officially presented next week.

On 20th April, the European Commission presented the Annual Report 2008 on Hazardous Products. Compared to the previous year, the Member States reported 16 % more hazardous products to the RAPEX alert system.

On 24th March the European Commission submitted a comprehensive report on the European telecommunication market including a country-specific analysis. On presenting the report, the EU Commissioner for Telecommunication Viviane Reding praised the competition as a “universal remedy” for more growth, investments and customer satisfaction.

Last week, the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection of the European Parliament organised a public hearing on the Proposal for a Directive on Consumer Rights. The European Commission intends a standardization of consumer protection.

After Latvia and Hungary, Rumania is now the third EU Member to be taken under the wings of the International Monetary Fund. Whilst the heads of state and government demand that the role of the IMF with respect to the future global financial regulation is enhanced, its recipes for tackling the crisis remain as controversial as ever.

For some time, the report of a high level group of experts - the so-called la Rosìere Group -, which had been commissioned by Commission President Barroso, was eagerly awaited in Brussels. Its mandate: What should financial regulation in Europe look like in future?

They had been expected for a long time - now they have arrived. The European Commission this week published a Communication containing regulations for so-called “Bad Banks”. These are institutes to be established by the state in order to buy toxic assets from the banks. Using taxpayers’ money.