The article discusses the potential of European transnational company agreements for the development of industrial democracy at European company level. It describes the experience of the ArcelorMittal European Social Dialogue Group, established in 2009 through a European transnational company agreement, as an innovative channel for trade union involvement in corporate decision-making. The conceptual framework draws on a cross-national comparison of industrial democracy discourses in two different European countries, Germany and Spain. A qualitative approach based on structured interviews with trade union representatives and management is used to identify divergent national discourses of employee voice that underlie common misunderstandings of industrial democracy at European level. The findings illustrate the persisting communication challenges trade unions face when engaging in employee representation structures at transnational company level. The article also substantiates that trade union representatives are able to revise and adapt their national discourses on industrial democracy under the influence of European practice.