Why the ECJ rulings highlight the need for a reinvigorated social Europe

By Richard Corbett

It is probably fair to say that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is an institution not used to hitting the headlines. However, its recent judgments in the Viking, Laval and Rüffert cases, have understandably given rise to consternation amongst trade unionists across the whole of Europe . In them, the court appears to give a higher priority to the freedom of circulation of capital and labour across the European market than to the rights of trade unions to take industrial action or make collective agreements.

However, any moves to heap the blame on the Court are misplaced. It is important to remember that the ECJ can only rule on disputes that are referred to it about the scope and meaning of existing law. If its rulings show that existing laws are inadequate, it is up to us to change the law.

Of course, there will be a political battle to bring in the necessary changes to legislation. Nowadays, we have to fight such political battles not just at local and national level but at European level. The manifesto of the Party of European Socialists for the 2009 European elections, to which Labour subscribes, provides for a review of the posted workers directive, which is the most obvious way of addressing the loophole revealed by the court judgements – and has the advantage of doing so on a Europe-wide scale.

Action could also be taken at national level – and that might be easier in some Member States. For example, the court rulings hinged on the fact that collective agreements are not enshrined in law in some countries and therefore do not bind those that are not party too them (eg service providers in other Member States). Recognising collective agreements as legally binding in national law (as is the case in some countries) would avoid some of the difficulties caused by the recent cases.

Either way, this is an opportunity for us as Labour politicians to demonstrate that the concept of social Europe will not be steamrollered by the liberalising tendencies of the right. The EU is not a project designed to enable unrestrained market forces – and, as the Socialist Vice President of the Commission, Margot Wallstrom, recently said, “the right of collective bargaining and action is not secondary to internal market rules”. Indeed, this approach is embodied in the Lisbon Treaty, which commits the EU to “a social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress”. It is time to start making this a reality.