Paid maternity leave rules face the axe as EC lays out five-year agenda

Paid maternity leave, air quality and waste recycling rules will be scrapped by the European Commission, while a new fruit and veg scheme for schools and organic product rules have been put on a watch list.

New company tax rules are also in their sights as the Lux/leaks controversy forces commission president Jean-Claude Juncker to show he can be tough on tax evasion.

The list of 80 bills to be withdrawn caused uproar in the European Parliament as MEPs accused the commission of producing an “order book for big business” in their work programme for the coming five years.