THE Spanish and Finnish governments have failed in a legal attempt to scrap the European Union's (EU) working time directive regarding professional road transport drivers.

Both countries claimed at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that the legislation should not have applied to self-employed drivers, but this was rejected by the ECJ, along with other complaints.

Finland argued that the law broke EU treaty commitments by imposing intolerable administrative burdens on small businesses, but this was rejected by judges who said the directive reflected a 'balanced consideration of the objective of road safety and the administrative work of his business on the other'.

The Finns also said the legislation should be annulled, because its preamble does not specify the competition problems caused by conflicting working time rules in the sector, saying this was a key constitutional requirement, especially because of the directive's 'interference with the freedom to conduct a business'.

Spain made similar arguments.