Tuesday

28th Nov 2023

Ticker

French work the least in Europe

French put in the least working hours in the EU, according to the bloc's statistical office Eurostat. Full-time workers in France clocked up 1,646 hours of labour last year. Finns were second lowest with 1,662 hours, followed by Sweden with 1,664. Romanians have the longest working hours with 2,080, followed by Greeks (2,010), and Hungarians (1,961).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Member states stall on EU ban on forced-labour products

More than two years after the EU Commission first proposed a law on forced labour, inter-institutional negotiations have not started because member states cannot reach agreement — risking the text's adoption before the 2024 European Parliament elections.

Column

How centre-right conservatives capitulate to the far-right

Many conservatives in Europe seem to have forgotten the lesson of 1930s Germany. They sacrifice their principles on the altar of the polls and all-too-often try to overtake rightwing radicals on their own pet subjects like security or migration.

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us