Can Governments Control Mass Layoffs by Employers? Economic Freedoms vs Labour Rights in Case C-201/15 AGET Iraklis

TLDR: The AGET Iraklis case as mentioned in this paper revisits the Viking/Laval case law and sheds new light on the uneasy relationship between labour law and the EU's fundamental economic freedoms.

Abstract: The AGET Iraklis case (C-201/15) revisits the Viking/Laval case law and sheds new light on the uneasy relationship between labour law and the EU’s fundamental economic freedoms. This article examines three sets of issues: the balance between the economic and the social in AGET Iraklis; the interplay between freedom to conduct a business (Article 16 of the EU Charter) and labour rights; and the Economic and Monetary Union dimension of the Court’s ruling in AGET Iraklis. The article makes three key claims. First, it is argued that the Court’s ruling marks a step towards a reconciliation between EU free movement law and labour law. Second, it is argued that Article 16 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights can be more ‘dangerous’ to labour rights when EU secondary law is interpreted in the light of that provision (such as in Alemo-Herron). In cases where both EU free movement law and Article 16 are engaged, the latter may not be equally influential. Third, it is noted that the margin of appreciation left to the domestic authorities might lead to further deregulation of the national labour law concerned, as Greece is subject to an economic adjustment programme.