Minimum Wages in Soft Grasp: The CJEU Ruling on the Adequate Minimum Wages Directive

Abstract

This case note discusses the Court of Justice’s judgment in Denmark v Parliament and Council, concerning the validity of the Adequate Minimum Wages Directive (AMWD) in light of the exclusion of ‘pay’ and the ‘right of association’ from EU social policy competences under Art. 153(5) TFEU. While Advocate General Emiliou had proposed annulling the Directive in its entirety on the ground that it impermissibly regulates ‘pay’, the Court upheld the core of the AMWD and annulled only limited parts of the Directive. In doing so, the Court allows the EU legislature to maintain a soft grasp on minimum wages despite the explicit competence exclusions. The judgment reaffirms the test from previous case law, according to which EU instruments must not ‘directly interfere’ in the determination of pay within the EU, but this note argues that the Court’s reasoning still provides only limited guidance on how this standard should be applied. Nonetheless, the ruling is of constitutional significance and provides several insights into how the Court interprets the competence exclusions in practice.