New EWC Directive published … ‘Are we there yet?’

(Spoiler alert: not quite.)

I guess it’s that time of the year again: The revised European Works Council Directive (EU) 2025/2450 has been published in the EU Official Journal, on 11 December 2025. Nearly a year after the European Parliament voted to improve the EWC Directive …

After years of debate, this is the text Member States will now have to transpose into national law (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2025/2450/oj/eng).

A step forward …
And yes, there are some improvements. E.g. the obligation to meet twice a year in person (under the subsidiary requirements). This genuinely matters. Continuity matters, as face-to-face meetings make it easier to build trust, have real conversations and pick up early warning signals, which, if used well, can actually help companies too.

But beyond that, I’m not wholly convinced the new Directive by itself will change practices in a fundamental way.

…but not a revolution
The Directive strengthens the wording but carefully avoids a real shift in power. Most notably, there is still no possibility to stop or suspend decisions taken in breach of consultation rights. Without that, enforcement remains largely after the fact, when the decision has already been made and implemented.
Whether this revision leads to better transnational dialogue will depend far more on how EWCs and companies choose to work with it, than on the Directive itself.

And although the timeline is long – this doesn’t mean nothing should happen.

Key dates:
• 11 December 2025 – Directive published
• Early 2026 – Directive enters into force
• By 1 January 2028 – National transposition required
• 2028 – Transitional rules start to apply
• From 2029 – New rules fully binding

My takeaway:
Waiting until 2029 would be a mistake. The real work, reviewing EWC agreements, improving consultation timing, and strengthening dialogue, can – and should – already start now!