EWC: A transnational body for international companies

The European Works Council (EWC) Directive dates back to 1994, celebrating its 30th anniversary last year. The Directive was revised for the first time in 2009. Under the EWC Directive, employees of transnational companies with at least 1,000 employees and at least 150 employees in at least two EU Member States are entitled to establish a European Works Council. The EWC members have the right to be informed and consulted by management on significant company decisions.

On the one hand, the number of EWCs has risen steadily in recent years and now stands at over 1,200 active EWCs. However, on the other hand, there is a lack of adequate legal standards governing the functioning of EWC committees. The functioning of an EWC is always negotiated individually on a contractual basis in each company, so the standards sometimes differ significantly. In practice, companies often failed to meet their information and consultation obligations, preventing European Works Council members from accessing details about company plans, restructuring and jobs, thus resulting in minimal dialogue with central management. Past issues included as well insufficient training for European Works Councils and delays and obstructions in establishing EWCS. Furthermore, one of the main problems was that EWCs had only limited opportunities to go to court and thus enforce their rights. For years, trade unions have been calling for improvements to the law. The European Commission had also already identified significant weaknesses and gaps in the enforcement of the EWC Directive in a report published in 2018.

Following the presentation of the revised EWC Directive by the European Commission in January 2024, both Parliament and Council reached an agreement on the revision of the Directive in May. EP rapporteur MEP Dennis Radtke (EPP) was a committed negotiator for the revision of the EWC Directive in the European Parliament. The Directive was finally approved by the European Parliament on 9 October by a clear majority of 414 votes to 139 with 61 abstentions.

What changes will the revised EWC Directive bring?

Following the new rules, at least two meetings per year (previously only one meeting per year) are required, supplemented by the right to hold face-to-face meetings. The EWC's resources are enhanced by rights to sufficient training and expert consultation by trade union representatives. In order to improve gender parity in EWCs, the Directive now stipulates a 40% quota, any deviation from it must be justified on objective grounds. Whereas companies have previously justified their failures to comply with the confidentiality of information, in future confidentiality must be proven following objective criteria. This should place greater restrictions on the misuse of so-called confidentiality clauses.

Above all, the revised EWC Directive improves law enforcement. If there are failures to comply with information and consultation obligations, legal action can be taken more easily. Going forward, the company will always have to cover legal costs. The EWC Directive now also defines more clearly when ‘transnationality’ applies and information and consultation obligations arise. It was also agreed that sanctions for companies limiting EWC information and consultation rights must be strengthened. However, the sanctions are to be determined at national level as part of the implementation process; there is no uniform regulation across Europe. Here, it is left to the Member States to define an appropriate amount or even to suspend the measure until the EWC has been informed and consulted (interim injunction).

Next steps

The final text of the revised EWC Directive was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 11 December 2025. Member States now have until 1 January 2028 to implement the Directive into national law and until 2 January 2029 to apply the provisions in companies. The EWC Directive sets a minimum standard that member states must implement into their national laws, but national laws can offer more extensive rights or protections, exceeding the Directive's baseline. The implementation period should now be used to bring national legislation into line with European law, but also to adapt existing EWC agreements. European Works Councils are crucial for informing and consulting employee representatives on cross-border decisions in transnational companies, ensuring employee interests, especially during major changes in the workplace. 

Further reading:

ETUC: Trade unions win stronger voice in multinational companies as Council adopts revised EWC Directive

ÖGB: Mehr Rechte für Europäische Betriebsräte beschlossen (More rights for European Works councils agreed) (German only)

A & W Blog: Stärkung von Europäischen Betriebsräten (Strengthening European Works councils) (German only)

EU Directive (2025/2450) in the Official Journal of the European Union