Maternity leave move faces axe

Ensuring women have the same rights to a decent amount of maternity leave across the EU has been branded as ‘red-tape’ by the European Commission.

Word is that they will this week withdraw the legislation that member states have been kicking to touch for the past four years.

Frans Timmermans, the Dutch man who is Commission first vice-president, is expected to tell the European Parliament that countries have their own maternity leave rules and that’s enough.