European Union member states reached an agreement on Monday night on the common European regulations permitting workers to work more than 48 hours per week, Slovenian EU Presidency announces, quoted by international news agencies.

Several texts on EU working regulations have a major importance and have been blocked for several years and were accepted through a qualified majority vote system. However, the texts still need the approval of the European Parliament, AFP informs.

European Commissioner on Social Affairs Vladimir Spidla declared that this is a net compromise and a social progress. Nonetheless, countries like Spain, Belgium, Greece, Hungary severely criticized the proposals.