Agnes Jongerius (S&D, the Netherlands) and Dennis Radtke (EPP, Germany), the co-rapporteurs of the draft directive on adequate minimum wages, reported 918 amendments in an exchange in the European Parliament Committee on Employment and Social Affairs on Thursday 3 June, pointing to a lot of negotiation and compromise work.
In his introductory remarks, the German co-rapporteur, Mr Radtke, once again deplored the fact that the legal basis of the directive was still in question despite the positive opinion of the EU Council’s Legal Service (see EUROPE 12675/13).
The question of the compatibility of the text with the European treaties (in particular Article 153 of the TFEU) was frequently raised during the interventions. As a result, many MEPs spoke out against the text, from the extreme right with Dominique Bilde (France) to the radical left with Sandra Pereira (Portugal).
Even within the EPP group, Jeroen Lenaers from the Netherlands expressed his doubts about a European approach to this issue and proposed that Parliament’s legal service should examine the legal basis in turn. In his view, it would be more damaging to create false expectations among European citizens than to make a text with very limited room for manoeuvre.
In general, political groups remain fragmented according to national delegations, as Monica Semedo (Renew Europe, Luxembourg) pointed out, noting divergences within her own group. The majority of the Danish and Swedish delegations remain opposed to any European interference in the social field, as shown by the numerous amendments calling for the rejection of the directive.
The title of the directive in question
While some Nordic parliamentarians do not want to question the legislation, several have tabled amendments to change the title. For example, three Nordic MEPs from the S&D group propose to introduce the notion of a “framework for the promotion” of adequate minimum wages to underline the flexibility of the directive.
The Romanian EPP delegation, for its part, insists on a “framework for promoting levels” of adequate minimum wages. Still others point to the fact that the text “recommends” adequate minimum wages.
The amendments on the body of the text are extremely varied, some dealing with gender equality, others with the inclusion of people with disabilities. Article 5, which sets out the criteria for estimating the level of the statutory salary, is the subject of numerous amendments. Here, some criticise the inclusion of labour productivity developments in how the statutory minimum wage is set; others simply call for the criteria to be removed altogether.
The co-rapporteurs and rapporteurs will meet again next week to begin the work of compromise. The aim is to vote on the text in committee in September. According to one source, given the tensions, the text is likely to pass through the plenary session in October, before interinstitutional negotiations begin.
To see the amendments: https://bit.ly/2Se9IDY (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)