The article examines the landmark ruling of the CJEU Grand Chamber concerning the annulment action brought by Denmark and Sweden against the Adequate Minimum Wage Directive. Dissecting the Court’s application of the ‘direct interference’ test, the analysis highlights how the CJEU navigated the delicate boundaries of EU competence regarding ‘pay’ under Article 153(5) TFEU by reaffirming its established case law on the limits of EU social competence, thus adopting a ‘conservative’ approach that nonetheless achieved a progressive outcome. The article argues that although the ruling denies the existence of an autonomous EU concept of wage adequacy, the survival of the Directive carries potential positive implications – to be ascertained in the future - for the potential integration of its provisions with other international law instruments’, for the understanding of a ‘competence creep’ that legitimizes positive social integration, and for the politically symbolic reaffirmation of European social policy in an era otherwise dominated by regulatory simplification.

An earlier, slightly modified version of this article was published in Italian in Lavoro e Diritto, 1/2026.