Late-night negotiations rarely end in happy outcomes: making compromise after compromise just to reach a deal is often a recipe for disaster.

Reporters say discussions in Brussels on at the start of the month, led by Czech labour minister Petr Nečas, broke down at 4am, but that did not deter the European Parliament and Council of Ministers negotiators from attempting another all-night session. Both clearly flouted the existing EU working time directive, far less any revised additional restrictions.

There was certainly pressure to get a result. The European Commission had threatened member states with legal action for apparently violating the directive in the way they were treating on-call time. And, of course, no member state wants to be in the Presidency when conciliation negotiations between the European Parliament and Council of Ministers have failed for the first time ever.

Mudslinging after the talks broke down came mainly from the European Parliament. Members voted to end the working time opt-out at the end of last year, and those voting this way included UK labour MEPs, going against their own government and party policy and siding with fellow socialist MEPs. They clearly thought member states would back down in the conciliation process. They believed their own hype. When a commissioner pointed the finger at their intransigence, and a member of the Parliamentiary negotiating team stated: “The socialist-dominated negotiating team refused to accept compromises,” and “The all-or-nothing approach ensured that the result was nothing.” Case closed.

European legislative processes are all about building alliances and getting deals. This failure to reach a deal means far more than the collapse of current working time reforms. Doing something once makes it easier to do it again, which does not bode well for future negotiations. The European Parliament should expect more strong bargaining positions from member states and each state’s self-interest will ensure there is no backing down.

So, what does this all mean for UK HR professionals? Obviously, no change on working time at present, and with the forthcoming European elections and new commission to be appointed, threats by the commission to take legal action against some member states will remain threats and not be acted upon. But employers should expect a revised proposal from the commission late this year dealing solely with the issue of on-call time.

There may be no threat from changes to working time, but what about European Works Councils? Member states have slipped through changes that are crude and ill-thought-out. The insanity continues.