The EU today vowed not to limit air traffic controllers' right to strike, after Ryanair and IAG demanded action to end crippling stoppages that they say are bringing misery to hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers.
Budget carrier Ryanair and British Airways owner IAG want the EU to force France to do more to tackle repeated strikes by air traffic controllers which have led to more than 750,000 passengers having flights cancelled since the start of this year.
But the European Commission, the bloc's powerful executive arm, defended workers' "fundamental right" to go on strike and said they hoped "non-binding and non-legislative" guidelines would solve the problem.
"The commission is not questioning the right to strike, which is a fundamental right of workers," spokesman Enrico Brivio told reporters.
"The commission cannot and will not adopt any measures regulating or limiting the right to strike."