1 Case 341/05, Laval un Partneri Ptd v. v Svenska Byggnadsarbetareforbundet et al., 2007 ECR I-5751. The case is often referred to as Vaxholm case because the industrial action was undertaken on a building site in Vaxholm, a town not far from Stockholm (see Kerstin Ahlberg, Niklas Bruun, and Jonas Malmberg, The Vaxholm Case from a Swedish and European Perspective, 12 Transfer 2/06, 155, 155–166 (2006).Google Scholar

2 Case 438/05, International Transport Workers’ Union Federation et al. v. Vikingline ABP et al., 2007 ECR I-000.Google Scholar

3 See for example, Reich, Norbert, Free Movement v. Social Rights in an Enlarged Union - the Laval and Viking Cases before the EC], 2 GLJ, 125, 125–161 (2008); Mestre, Bruno, The Ruling Laval un Partneri: Clarification and Innovation, 1 ELR, 2, 2–9 (2008); Bercusson, Brian, The Trade Union Movement and the European Union: Judgement Day, 13 ELJ, 279, 279–308 (2007); Chaumette, Patrick, Les actions collectives syndicales dans le maillage des libertés communautaires des enterprises, 2 Obs. Sur CJCE, Dr. Soc., 210, 210–220 (2008).Google Scholar

4 The focus of this paper is on Laval due to the fact that in Viking the ECJ offered a less articulated feedback on the status of social provisions. In Viking, the Luxembourg jury leaves it to the national courts to decide on the outcomes. Besides, the issue of the flag of convenience would need a separate thorough analysis in the context of Private International Law, especially with the implications for the taxation system.Google Scholar

5 Dougan, Michael, A Spectre is Haunting Europe…Free movement of Persons and the Eastern Enlargement, in EU Enlargement: A Legal Approach, 111–142 (Hillion, Christophe, ed., 2004).Google Scholar

6 Id., 112.Google Scholar

7 Nicola Doyle, Gerard Hughes and Eskie Wadensjo, Freedom of Movement for Workers from Central and Eastern Europe: Experiences in Ireland and Sweden, 5 Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies (2006).Google Scholar

8 The notion of ‘social dumping’ will be analyzed with regard to the EC Social Law. It is a theoretical construction which is described neither in EC\EU Treaties, nor sufficiently defined in the case-law. In the enlargement context the term ‘dumping’ is often referred to describe the influx of cheep goods on the EU-15 market. See Paul Brenton, Anti-Dumping, Diversion and the Next Enlargement of the EU (1999). In Laval both the Advocate General in his opinion and the Court in its decision address the notion of social dumping on several occasions without setting a general definition (For further discussion, see especially para. 103, 113 in the decision; see also numerous references to the “combat of social dumping” in the Opinion of AG Mengozzi: para. 246, 249, 251, 273, 280, 307, 309). The anti-dumping measure is interpreted strictly in the context of the Swedish Law on Workers’ Participation in Decisions (Medbestammändelagen). Further the paper will attempt to find, at least, an adequate description of social dumping in the post-enlargement context.Google Scholar

9 Michael Herman and Agencies, ECJ hears landmark labor case, Times On-line (9 January 2007). Available at: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/corporate/article1291012.ece (last accessed on 18 November 2008); Tait, Nikki, A Viking sea battle to rock the EU boat, The Financial Times (1 January 2007). Available at: http://us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto010120071237549438 (last accessed on 18 November 2008).Google Scholar

10 See further, Gaëtan, Gorce, L'Union européenne face aux risques de dumping social, 7 Assemble nationale, 2000; Eklund, Ronnie, The Laval Case. Swedish Labour Court Decision 2005 No. 49, 35 ILJ 203 (2006).Google Scholar

11 For an example, see Tamara K. Hervey and Jeff Kenner, Economic and Social Rights under the EU Charter of Fundamental rights: a Legal Perspective (2003); Craven, Matthew C.R., The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: a Perspective on its Development, (1995).Google Scholar

12 When these rights referred to in the literature as ‘fundamental rights’ (les droits fondamentaux), it is usually done with the aim to distinguish them from the ‘fundamental freedoms’ (les libertés fondamentales). Within this approach the former are meant to be synonymic with human rights. And the latter are those which come under the scope of internal market. See in particular, Alberto Alemanno, A la recherche d'un juste équilibre entre libertés fondamentales et droits fondamentaux dans le cadre du marché intérieurs Quelques réfletions à propos des arrěts « Schmidberger » et « Omega » », 4 Revue du droit de l'Union européenne [RDUE] 709 (2004).Google Scholar

13 This synonymous approach has become traditional for EC law doctrine; in particular, see Armin Von Bogdany, The European Union as a Human Rights Organization? Human Rights and the Core of the European Union, 37 CML Rev. 1307, 1307–1338 (2000). It should be noted that sometimes the terminology of ‘fundamental rights’ is used to embrace even a wider scope of rights and freedoms, including civil, cultural, economic, social and political rights (For an example, see John Morijn, Balancing Fundamental Rights and Common Market Freedoms in Union Laws: Schmidberger and Omega in the Light of the European Constitution, 12 ELJ 15, 15–40 (2006) which is inadmissible in the light of the present paper, since it distinguishes ‘fundamental’ (human) and ‘social’ rights in order to answer the question whether the latter has acquired (or might acquire) a similar ‘derogation’ status which human rights do enjoy now in EC law.Google Scholar

14 For a more comprehensive analysis see Catherine Barnard, The Substantive Law of the EU: the Four Freedoms (2006); White, Robin C.A., Workers, Establishment and Services in the European Union (2004).Google Scholar

15 For a more detailed distinguishing analysis between workers and services providers in the context of free movement see Marc De Vos, Free Movement of Workers, Free Movement of Services and the Posted Workers Directive: a Bermuda Triangle for National Labour Standards? ERA-Forum, N 3/2006, 357, 357–359 (2006).Google Scholar

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19 Florence Hartmann-Vareilles and Maria Pilar Nunez Ruiz, « Le travailleur communautaire: quelques réflexions sur un élément inachevé du marché intérieur », ERA, 3/2006 326, 326–344 (2006).Google Scholar

20 Consider Case 168/91, Konstantinidis, 1993ECR 1–1191; Joint Cases 493/01 and C-482/01, Orfanopulos, 2004 ECR I-05257; Case 109/01, Arkich, 2003 ECR I-09607.Google Scholar

21 See Cabral, Pedro, La libre cirulation des soins médicaux dans l'Union européene, Sean Van Raepenbusch, Libre circulation et sécurité sociale, and Pablo Dengler, Libre circulation des personnes et imposition dircte, in La libre circulation des personnes: Etats des lieux et perspectives, Cahiers du College d'Europe N° 5, Actes d'un colloque organise en 2003 a Liege (2007), 203–268.Google Scholar

22 Strumia, Francesca, Citizenship and free movement: European and American features of a Judicial Formula for Increased Comity, (2006) CJEL, Vol. 12, 3/2006. 714–715.Google Scholar

23 Case 209/03, Bidar, 2005 ECR I-02119 (para. 83).Google Scholar

24 Case 200/02, Chen, 2004 ECR I-09925.Google Scholar

25 Interestingly enough, in his Opinion in Case C-96/04, Standesamt Stadt Niebull (name of Leonhard-Matthias) AG F. Jacobs goes even further to admit that one should not look for economic actor any longer.Google Scholar

26 The Court even found the link between economic activities and the language (Case 281/98, Angonese, [2000] ECR I-4139; Case 378/87, Groener, 1989 ECR I-3967 etc) or between economic activities and the name (Konstantinidis, supra note 21, Garcia Avello, supra note 18, 2003 ECR). Moreover, the prostitution was acknowledged being an economic activity (Joined Cases 115 and 116/81, Adoui & Cornuaille, 1982 ECR I-1665).Google Scholar

27 Case 415/93, Bosman, 1995 ECR I-4921.Google Scholar

28 Cases 267/91 and 268/91, Keck & Mithouard, 1993ECR 1993 I-06097.Google Scholar

29 Para. 98: “[…] The abolition, as between Member States, of obstacles to the freedom to provide services would be compromised in the abolition of State barriers could be neutralised by obstacles resulting from the exercise of their legal autonomy by associations or organizations not governed by public law”.Google Scholar

30 This notion was first introduced in the German legal doctrine in the 1960s. For an analysis of the evolution of the term see Dominik Hanf, Le développement de la citoyenneté de l'Union européenne, in La libre circulation des personnes: Etats des lieux et perspectives, Cahiers du College d'Europe N° 5, Actes d'un colloque organise en 2003 a Liege, (2007), 16–17.Google Scholar

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35 Barnard, supra note 14, 402–403.Google Scholar

36 Case 356/98, Kaba I, 2000 ECR I-2623 and Case 466/00, Kaba II, 2003 ECR I-2219.Google Scholar

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38 The question of ‘European solidarity’ has been profoundly treated in a series of European Law Review: Editorial, The unbearable heaviness of European citizenship, 31 E.L. Rev. (2006). Also, Oxana Golynker Jobseekers’ rights in the EU: challenges of changing the paradigm of social solidarity, 30 E.L.Rev., 111, 111–123 (2005).Google Scholar

39 Further enumeration is based on the article of Prof. Dougan, supra note 5.Google Scholar

40 Id., 7.Google Scholar

44 Id., 17.Google Scholar

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43 De Vos, supra note 15, 361.Google Scholar

44 Case 113/89, Rush Portuguesa v. Office national d'immigration, 1990 ECR I-1417.Google Scholar

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50 Case 43/93, Vander Elst v. Office des Migrations Internationales, 1994 ECR I-3803. See also Case 244/04, Commission v. Germany, 2006 ECR I-000. The reference should be made to the rules of Rome Convention on rules concerning the law applicable to contractual obligations OJ 1980 L266/1.Google Scholar

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55 In fact, in para. 103 of Laval the Court directly refers to Mazzoleni, so the “internal market reasoning” of the ECJ seems to be quite consistent.Google Scholar

56 Case 68–71/98, Finalarte, 2001 ECR I-7831.Google Scholar

57 EC Directive 93/104 of the Council, of 23 November 1993, concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time, OJ L 307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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63 Id., para. 30 and 47.Google Scholar

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65 In particular, Case 376/96, Arblade and Others, 1999 ECR I-8453, Mazzoleni & ISA, 2001 supra note 53, Finalarte & Others, 2001 supra note 56.Google Scholar

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70 Another trend is to concert wage levels at PPP (purchasing power parity). This approach shows that for some countries (especially Baltic States) the absolute gap in per capita incomes to the EU-15 is still capable of provoking large labour migration potential. For other countries (Slovenia and Czech Republic) PPP was quite comparative to the countries of previous enlargement. For a thorough economic analysis see Frigyes Ferdinand Heinz and Melanie Ward-Warmedinger, Cross-Border Labour Mobility Within An Enlarged EU, 52 Occasional paper series, 16–17 (2006). For a more politics-oriented study see Marat Kengerlinsky, Restrictions in EU Immigration Policies Towards New Member States 2 Journal of European Affairs (2004). For detailed analysis of legal implications dating back to the economic fears see Orsolya Farkas and Olga Rymkevitch, Immigration and the Free Movement of Workers after Enlargement: Contrasting Choices 20(3) Int.J.Comp.L.L.I.R. 369 (2004); Adelina Adinolfi Free Movement and Access to Work of Citizens of the New Member State: The Transitional Measures 41 CML Rev. 469 (2005).Google Scholar

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84 Regulation 1612/68 of the Council, of 15 October 1968, on freedom of movement for workers within the Community, OJL 257, 2–12.Google Scholar

85 In Denmark labour market is fully covered, in Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands flexible provisions cover only certain sectors or certain professions.Google Scholar

86 Initially German and Austrian governments insisted on transitional derogations for certain sensitive sectors (e.g., construction, industrial cleaning, home nursing and security activities). This logic certainly dates back to consequences of the previous enlargements. Michael Dougan expressed an interesting opinion that the better alternative for Germany and Austria would be to require payment of their national minimum wage for posted workers from EU-8, despite the judgement in Mazzoleni. See Dougan, supra note 5, 138–139.Google Scholar

87 Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Spain, France, Lithuania, Poland, UK. Even Norway and Iceland did not stay apathetic.Google Scholar

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100 In recent literature among other ways-out the following ones were proposed: (1) a solution “à la Keck” (with an interesting parallel to the revolutionary limits established by the Court in case Keck & Mithouard, 1993, supra note 28), (2) introduction of de minimis rule (exclusion from application of human rights derogation in the situations when no significant economic effect is evident), (3) “Cassis de Dijon solution” (with reference to Case 120/78, Cassis de Dijon, 1979 ECR I-649, where the Court elaborated a compatibility test on the basis of the restrictive effects’ analysis under Article 28 EC escaping from the derogation of Article 30 EC). See Alberto Alemanno, Á la recherche d'un juste équilibre entre libertés fondamentales et droits fondamentaux dans le cadre du marché intérieur: quelques réflecions à propos des arrěts « Schmidberger » et « Omega », RDUE 4/2004, 709–751 (2004).Google Scholar

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119 Para. 104, 105 (social purpose of the Community), para. 91 (the right to take a collection action is indeed a fundamental right as a general principle of EC Law).Google Scholar

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126 Similarly Moreau induces the progress of ‘fundamental social rights’ from the perspective of “citizen-workers”. She demonstrates that the internal market is actually structured by social rights, including the right to collective bargaining. Marie-Ange Moreau, European Fundamental Social Rights in the Context of Economic Globalization, in Social Rights in Europe (Gráinne De Búrca and Bruno de Witte (eds.) 2005), esp. 370–371. In Laval the Court tackles the abuses of such structuring.Google Scholar

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