Croatia is heading towards a work-free Sunday, in the direction of half of EU countries where Sunday working in shops is restricted, with the exception of newsstands, bakeries, petrol station convenience shops, and shops at bus and railways stations, the Vecernji List daily said on Monday.

Government spokesman Marko Milic confirmed that a law to regulate Sunday working was in preparation, taking into account the balance between work, rest and spending time with family.

“The final proposal and determining the concrete number of non-working Sundays is still being defined and the government will discuss this with social partners,” Milic was quoted as saying, adding that Labour Minister Josip Aladrovic and Economy Minister Tomislav Coric will meet this week with union representatives to discuss this topic.

“And we will also maintain a dialogue with employers,” Milic said, adding that the political position of the HDZ government had not changed with regards to work-free Sunday and that they still wanted it to be work-free. They have analysed European practice and the best solution will be found.

Regulating and restricting Sunday working is also in line with the Directive of Work-Life Balance, adopted by the European Parliament last year, which has to be incorporated into the national legislation of EU countries by 2022, the daily wrote.