Source: European Parliament
The Commission fully recognises the crucial role of firefighters in the face of increasing challenges linked to wildfires and other natural disasters.
It also underlines that the framework Agreement on fixed-term work[1] aims to improve the quality of fixed-term work and to prevent misuse of successive fixed-term employment relationships.
The Commission does not have any evidence indicating that the provisions of Greek law transposing the framework Agreement are not applicable to fixed-term firefighters.
If misuse of successive fixed-term contracts occurs in violation of the national transposing provisions, it is a matter to be primarily addressed by the national courts and authorities. In its role as guardian of the Treaties, the Commission may decide to take appropriate action in accordance with the prerogatives conferred to it by the Treaty.
As the Honourable Member refers to ‘seasonal’ firefighters, the Commission recalls that, according to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union[2], the fact that two fixed-term contracts are separated by a significant lapse of time is generally sufficient to interrupt an existing employment relationship.
Therefore, in the absence of overriding considerations based on specific circumstances, the framework Agreement does not require Member States to consider such contracts to be successive.