The European Parliament’s legal service gave a positive opinion on the legal basis of the directive on adequate minimum wages on Tuesday 28 September. However, it recommends that the wording of the articles on collective agreements and on the criteria for setting an adequate wage be revised to give the negotiators of the legislative proposal a little more room for manoeuvre.
In its conclusions, the Legal Service considers that the legal basis chosen by the European Commission (i.e. Article 153(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, in conjunction with Article 153(1)(b)) is “correct” and in line with the objectives set out in the European Commission’s original proposal.
The measures contained in the proposal are in line with the suggested legal basis, and in particular respect the exclusion of ‘remuneration’ from EU competence in Article 153(5) TFEU, say Parliament’s lawyers.
According to the Legal Service, the European Commission’s proposal does not pursue other parallel objectives that would require the addition of another legal basis in accordance with the case law of the Court of Justice.
However, some corrections need to be made to Article 6 (enshrining variations and deductions from statutory minimum wages) in order to remove from the operative part statements that appear to assert national jurisdiction in relation to the authorisation of variations and deductions.
Furthermore, “due to the inconsistent language” of the section on the promotion of collective bargaining on minimum wages, “which does not always establish a clear link with the aspect of minimum wage setting”, the Legal Service prescribes a rewording of Article 4 (article on the promotion of collective bargaining), which it believes is necessary in order to establish a clearer link with the objective and scope of the proposal and its legal basis.
The opinion should help to silence criticism from Central and Northern European MEPs who question the soundness of the legal basis of the text.
Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs is expected to vote on the compromise amendments on 25 October.
In the Council of the EU, the Legal Service had issued a legal opinion validating the legal basis of the Directive. However, it had taken a very restrictive view and strongly framed the room for manoeuvre in negotiations in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity enshrined in the European treaties (see EUROPE 12675/13). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)