Members of the CDU/CSU faction in the German Bundestag have called on the federal government to initiate negotiations with the European Commission in Brussels regarding the repeal of the Pay Transparency Directive.
According to reports from Politico, Andreas Lenz, the faction’s spokesperson for economic policy (CSU), urged the federal government to re-engage with the Commission. Lenz asserted that the directive is neither modern nor practical in its application. He stated that while the directive may be “at best well-intentioned” its intended positive outcomes are not being achieved. Furthermore, these regulations are burdensome, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and are generally unworkable in their current form.
Anne König, the CDU’s spokesperson for family and women policies, echoed these concerns, arguing that the directive offers no discernible added value to achieve gender equality in the workplace. Instead, she believes it introduces new sources of conflict within companies. König predicts that the directive will fail to meet the high expectations that proponents have set regarding a tangible reduction in the pay gap. The CDU politician also warned that the directive challenges fundamental aspects of Germany’s liberal economic order by compromising the principles of performance-based justice, entrepreneurial freedom, and collective bargaining autonomy.
The European Union approved the Pay Transparency Directive in 2023, mandating that member states integrate it into national law by June 7, 2026. However, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, which is responsible for the implementation, has already announced that this deadline will not be met.
