The essay deals with the relaunch of the EU initiatives to adopt a normative instrument on minimum wage. Even if the issue had been on the agenda of previous Commissions, the new Presidency has put it on the list of the EU priorities. Such bold political willingness risks however to be frustrated both by the opposition of the social partners – who refused to open the negotiation procedure – and by the uncertainties surrounding the legal base indicated by the Commission. The essay argues that such difficulties could be overcome by making reference to an alternative legal basis and by framing the proposal in such way not to be considered as exceeding the limits of EU competencies and excessively limiting the autonomy of national social partners.