The minimum wage in Luxembourg is nearly seven times higher than in Bulgaria, and the European Union remains marked by very strong disparities, reveal the latest Eurostat figures published on Friday.
The issue of low wages is of concern to Brussels, which in October 2020 proposed a draft directive aimed at improving the lot of the worst-off workers.
The text, currently examined by the European Parliament and the Member States, is one of the priorities of the French presidency of the Council of the EU which hopes to have it adopted before the summer.
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As of January 1, 2022, among the 21 EU countries that have a minimum wage, thirteen are below the threshold of 1,000 euros per month (before tax and social security contributions).
The lowest are recorded in Bulgaria (332 euros per month), Latvia (500) and Romania (515), the European statistics office said in a press release.
Cost of living differences
Only six countries have a monthly minimum wage higher than 1500 euros, the highest being in Luxembourg (2257), Ireland (1775) and the Netherlands (1725).
Germany (1621) and France (1603) come just behind Belgium (1658).
The gaps narrow significantly once the differences in the cost of living between countries are taken into account.
In purchasing power parity, the minimum wage is evaluated at 604 euros in Bulgaria, against 1,707 in Luxembourg, which is still a difference of 1 to 3.
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The Brussels draft directive provides rules to promote the increase of minimum wages where they exist, but does not set a uniform European threshold.
Nor will it require the introduction of a minimum wage in the six EU countries that do not have one (Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Sweden).
