Abstract
Since quite some time, academic labour law debate has been focusing on existential questions, concerning the future and the role of labour law. In Europe, this major questioning and re-thinking of labour law has recently been brought under the rubric of ‘modernisation of labour law’, a wording used in the European Commission's Green Paper of 22 November 2006. This contribution argues that, in this ‘modernisation’ debate, the role of collective labour law should not be overlooked. It addresses the questions whether collective labour law still has a future and whether the European Union can give a future to collective labour law. These questions are answered in the context of the current challenges of the collective labour law dimension and the developing role of Europe in this field.