Dr. Éva Gellérné Lukács delivered a plenary lecture on 14 October 2025 in Visegrád at the 22nd Hungarian Labour Law Conference.

The purpose of the presentation was to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of labour market integration within the European Union and to examine the legal, economic, and social factors shaping the path toward a unified labour market. It was emphasized that EU labour law and private international law today largely determine the rules governing labour mobility and working conditions, while the room for purely national decision-making is increasingly defined within the framework of EU law. The central question addressed was to what extent labour law rules stem from EU-level sources and what significance this has for the functioning of the single market.

In outlining the legal background, I discussed the application of the Rome I Regulation, which determines the law applicable to individual employment contracts. This is particularly relevant in complex cross-border employment situations where the employer, the place of work, and the employee’s residence are located in different Member States. Through this example, she illustrated how employee protection operates in such contexts: workers cannot be deprived of the rights they would enjoy under the law applicable in the absence of a choice of law. The judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union – such as in the Gruber case – clearly demonstrate that the Court consistently favours the rules providing the higher level of worker protection.

The free movement of workers remains one of the cornerstones of EU integration. She highlighted that this freedom has not only economic but also social importance, as the principle of equal treatment ensures that EU citizens enjoy identical conditions in terms of employment, working arrangements, and access to social benefits. Particular emphasis was placed on the fact that this principle – rooted in Articles 18 and 45 TFEU and Regulation 492/2011 – represents the ultimate safeguard for workers’ rights, even when no specific legal provision has been infringed.

Regarding the development of EU labour law, I noted that according to the European Commission’s 2019 Communication, more than 120 legal acts now fall within this policy area. In recent years, a new wave of legislation has emerged: the Directives on transparent working conditions, work–life balance, whistleblowing, and equal pay and representation for women all reflect the strengthening of the EU’s social dimension. EU occupational safety and health law is particularly complex, as it simultaneously serves to protect workers and ensure fair competition conditions across Member States.

In conclusion, she argued that the unified EU labour market has already become a legal reality. Although the process is gradual and progresses at different speeds across Member States, the depth of integration is undeniable. In Hungary, legal harmonisation has been smooth in several areas – such as occupational safety or transparent working conditions – while in others, like posting of workers, challenges remain. The new directives on adequate minimum wages, gender quotas, and equal pay will mark further milestones in the unification of the European labour market. This period can rightly be regarded as a new “golden age” in the history of EU social policy.