On January 28, the Senate decided to postpone the vote on a proposal to make minimum wages in the EU adequate. This proposal transposes the EU directive into Dutch law. After a debate, Minister Van Hijum sent a letter regarding an opinion from the EU Court of Justices Advocate General. The Advocate General argued the EU lacks authority in wage matters, advising annulment of the directive. No court ruling has been made yet.
On the proposal of Senator Schalk (SGP), a majority agreed to wait for clarity on EU competence. The BBB, VVD, CDA, D66, PVV, JA21, ChristenUnie, FVD, and 50PLUS supported this. GroenLinks-PvdA, SP, PvdD, Volt, and OPNL did not. Member states must implement the directive. Without it, the European Commission may start infringement proceedings. The government preferred the Senate to vote on it.