Malta and EU member States demand changes to the proposal on adequate minimum wages in the EU

Together with a number of other European members states, the Maltese Government signed a letter in order to turn the proposal by the European Commission for the Directive on adequate minimum wages into a recommendation. These member states including Malta believe that the Directive as proposed does not take into account the different realities of member states.

While taking part in a multilateral videoconference with the Ministers of Employment of the signatory countries of this letter,  Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister Carmelo Abela reaffirmed that while Malta supports the objective behind the Directive of every worker’s right to a decent living, Malta believes in a national policy for setting the minimum wage that takes into account the national characteristics of each country.

In his intervention, Minister Abela expressed his concern on the legal basis of the Directive and also spoke about how parts of the Directive could suppress the principle of subsidiarity and leave no room for flexibility. For this reason, Malta is supporting the request for a legal opinion on the Directive and also agrees that it should be concluded before talks on the proposal itself begin.

“Malta remains committed to participate in discussions in order to achieve a fair balance alongside all stakeholders and so that this Directive allows member states a certain flexibility to determine the best solutions in line with the national reality,” concluded Minister Carmelo Abela.

Sweden, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, Ireland, Poland, Hungary and Estonia are signatories to this letter together with Malta. The letter will be forwarded to the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union as well as the former German Presidency.