The European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs held an interparliamentary meeting on minimum wage protection and collective bargaining, following the transposition deadline and the Court of Justice judgment on Denmark's challenge. Li Andersson (The Left) framed the debate around in-work poverty and wage-setting predictability. Mario Nava (European Commission) welcomed the judgment and announced monitoring.
Key disputes emerged. The partial annulment of adequacy criteria was seen by Sacha Garben (College of Europe) as blunting social ambition, while Marit Maij (S&D) argued it confirmed the directive as a working conditions framework. National models vs. structural change: Elena Murelli (Italian Senate) defended Italy's system without a statutory minimum wage, while Dennis Radtke (EPP) cited Romania's reform as a game changer. Minimum wage increases: Spanish representatives highlighted a 66% rise with record employment, but Maxime Cerutti (BusinessEurope) warned of wage-price spirals. Collective bargaining promotion: Thorsten Schulten (Hans Böckler Foundation) criticized soft tools, citing Greece as the strongest action plan, while Maria Zacharia (NI) rejected that account. Social counterpower vs. partnership: Tea Jarc (ETUC) argued union power had weakened, while Cerutti stressed employer flexibility.
Consensus existed on improving conditions and the centrality of collective bargaining, but implementation quality and national specificities remained contested. Next steps include Commission monitoring and parliamentary oversight.