Is the European Commission required to implement an agreement concluded between European social partners as part of the consultation procedure intended by the Treaty? In a ruling handed down on 24 October, the Tribunal of the European Union ruled that the European Commission, which has sole authority in terms of social policies even if the social partners have used their rights to negotiate such an agreement. For the Luxemburg Court, the European Commission remains the guardian of the general interest, while the social partners 'represent only one part of multiple interests that must be taken into account in the development of the social policy of the European Union.'
In 2015, the social partners sitting on the Social Dialogue Committee for Central Government Administrations –– namely the Trade Unions’ National and European Administration Delegation (TUNED), on the one hand, and the European Public Administration Employers (EUPAE), on the other hand, concluded an agreement entitled ‘General framework for informing and consulting civil servants and employees of central government administrations’, which stemmed from the requirement for consultation with the European social partners on social initiatives launched by the European Commission.
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