The article describes the origin and current development of transnational framework agreements – the phenomenon, which has appeared during the last decades as a trade unions’ response to growing role of transnational corporations. Global negotiations with central managements taken on voluntary basis lead to agree on texts that ensure respect for the fundamental social rights. At European level negotiations supported by European Works Councils increasingly result in substantive agreements that have positive influence on labour standards in local sites. This tendency is a reason for the on going debate concerning possibility of building European legal framework for transnational company agreements.