Denmark takes EU to court over minimum wage directives

COPENHAGEN, Denmark

Denmark’s three-party coalition government on Wednesday challenged the European Union minimum wage directives in the bloc’s court, the Employment Ministry said in a statement.

The legal challenge was in the cards since it was part of a policy agreement between the governing parties, signed in December, after extensive negotiations. Denmark stands to challenge the minimum wage directive in the suit by arguing that it breaches EU treaties.

The EU directive on minimum wages was accepted in October but Denmark and Sweden expressed their strong reservations over it as they maintained that the financial model is in direct clash with its established labor models. Wages in the two countries are decided through negotiations between trade unions and employers.

While the EU has reiterated that it will not force Denmark to incorporate the minimum wage into its laws as it respects the Danish model, the government remains determined to see the directives completely annulled.

“It’s important to underline that the directive does not force Denmark to introduce a minimum wage,” Employment Minister Ane Halsboe-Jorgensen said in the statement. “But despite that, this is a case of legislation without precedent, which makes it a principal case. We insist that wages must be set in Denmark and not the EU. The government has therefore decided that the EU Court must rule on this case,” she said.

The date on which the case will be taken up by the European Court of Justice has yet to be set.