Driving the EU working conditions directive: social partner reactivity and the limits to commission entrepreneurship

Mikkel Mailand*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

The EU’s social dimension has been strengthened since the mid-2010s. Recent research has shown how Commission entrepreneurship in meta-governance such as the European Pillar of Social Rights and the European Semester turned existing regulation in a more ‘social’ direction or led to new regulation strengthening Social Europe. This article asks whether the Commission also stands out as the most important actor in initiatives focused exclusively on working conditions and if the European social partners also in these are secondary reactive actors. Focusing on a recent case where the social partners had a treaty-based right to bargain—the Working Conditions Directive—the article confirms the Commission’s dominance and the reactivity of the social partners. The choice not to bargain reduces the social partners to lobbyists attempting to influence other key actors. However, the case also shows the limits to Commission entrepreneurship in that EU member states and the European Parliament were able to influence the outcome in important ways.

Original languageEnglish
JournalComparative European Politics
Number of pages21
ISSN1472-4790
DOIs
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

Keywords

  • Commission entrepreneurship
  • European Parliament
  • European social partners
  • Social Europe
  • The European Council
  • Working conditions directive

Cite this