The Minimum Wage Directive

C-19/23 Denmark v Council and European Parliament – the EU’s competence to intervene in social policy.

On 11 November 2025, the European Court of Justice delivered a landmark judgment in Case C-19/23, ruling on the action for annulment of the EU Minimum Wage Directive brought by Denmark against the European Parliament and the Council. The case centres on the sensitive concept of “pay” and raises far-reaching questions not only for EU labour law, but for EU constitutional law and social governance more broadly. At its core, the judgment clarifies the limits of EU intervention in social policy, an area traditionally characterised by national competence over wage-setting.

The leading EU law scholar Professor Catherine Barnard (University of Cambridge) will present her in-depth analysis of the Court’s judgment and reflect on its broader implications for the EU legal order, with particular attention to the evolving balance between Union authority and Member State autonomy in the field of social policy.

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