BEERG Newsletter - Minimum Wage: Denmark to go to the European Court

According to the Nordic Labour Journal, the Danish government has lodged an appeal with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) asking it to annul the recently adopted Adequate Minimum Wage Directive. The Directive was adopted in 2022 and EU Member States have two years in which to transpose it into national law. 

The Danes believe that the EU does not have any right to pass legislation that touches on pay and that in adopting the Minimum Wage Directive it has overstepped the mark. The Danes believe that the Directive unfairly interferes with the Nordic labour market model which is based on negotiations between unions and employers. However, the Swedes are moving ahead with its transposition and the Finns have always been supportive of it. The Directive does not appear to impact Norway or Iceland, which are members of the European Economic Area, but not the EU.