The European Court of Justice says Greece is in breach of EU law by allowing doctors to work long hours without adequate rest. Ten Greek medical associations were backed by the European Commission when they filed a complaint with the EU’s top court.

The ECJ ruled in their favor against Greece. The court found that Greek doctors “may have to work more than 24 consecutive hours and even up to 32 hours”.

A European Parliament report documents the degradation of Greek healthcare as a result of major budget cuts due to the EU bailout rules. There was a 25% slash in healthcare spending from 2008-2012, hence the Greek healthcare is understaffed and short of 2,500 doctors and other medical staff according to the Greek government and even more according to medical associations.