Social Europe without Social Dialogue: Decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union in C-928/19 P European Federation of Public Service Unions

Abstract

C-928/19 P European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) is a cornerstone to the future of Social Europe and the probably limited role of social dialogue in it. In this judgment, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union confirms that the European Commission is not obliged to transmit a collective agreement negotiated by the European social partners to the Council for its adoption as an EU legal act under Article 155(2) TFEU. What seems like a technical judgment on the Union’s institutions is a constitutional decision on the European social model. In fact, EU labour lawyers have been heatedly discussing whether the Commission can examine and reject the content of collective agreements negotiated in the European Social Dialogue under Articles 154 and 155 TFEU.1 One can effectively understand the European Social Dialogue as an alternative procedure of EU law-making that shares the right of legislative initiative in social policy among the Commission and the social partners. For this reason, the Commission should not be allowed to unilaterally reject a collective