In Tuesday's ruling, the judges strike down two of the provisions in the controversial new minimum wage rules that were pushed through in the EU in 2022.
"An important ruling for Sweden. We are now reviewing the judgment in detail, but it is good that the court is so clear about setting its foot down, here but no further. It is important in the long term so that we can preserve our labor market model," writes EU Parliament member and former Deputy Minister of Labor Johan Danielsson (S) in a comment via text message.
The directive was created to ensure that minimum wages were not set too low, but was met with protests from the Nordic countries where wages are traditionally set after negotiations between unions and business, rather than through legislation.
Joy and disappointment
Denmark's Minister of Labor Kaare Dybvad Bek (S) thinks the ruling is "very positive".
"This means that we will not introduce a statutory minimum wage in Denmark. And that the EU will not interfere in Danish agreements. So overall it is hugely positive for the Danish labor market model," he says, according to the Ritzau news agency.
Danish industry representatives, however, had wanted the court to go significantly further.
"We are disappointed with today's decision. We would have liked to see the directive declared invalid," comments Søren Kryhlmand from Dansk Industri according to the Ritzau news agency.
Alone against
Sweden and Denmark were the only countries to vote against the legislation when it was introduced. Although the countries were granted exemptions from introducing statutory minimum wages, they still chose to take the issue to the European Court of Justice.
The court now chose to only strike down two parts of the directive.
On the one hand, it is considered wrong to list a number of criteria that must be taken into account by countries that have statutory minimum wages. On the other hand, a rule that prevents reductions in minimum wages is criticized.
