Agreement reached on new minimum wage rules in EU
21:30
With an agreement reached on Monday evening, negotiators from the EU Parliament and Council have agreed on EU rules to set the appropriate level of minimum wages, whether set by national law or by collective agreements. The new rules will apply to all EU workers who have an employment contract or employment relationship. EU countries where the minimum wage is only protected by collective agreements will not be obliged to introduce it or apply it across the board.
Under the agreement, member states will have to assess whether their current statutory minimum wages (i.e., the lowest wage permitted by law) are adequate to ensure a decent standard of living, taking into account their socio-economic conditions, purchasing power, or long-term national levels and product developments.
To assess the adequacy, EU countries may establish a basket of goods and services at real prices. Member States may also use indicative reference values that are commonly used internationally, such as 60 percent of the median gross wage and 50 percent of the average gross wage.
In the EU, 21 of the 27 countries have a statutory minimum wage, and in the remaining six (Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Italy, and Sweden), wages are set through collective bargaining. Expressed in euros, the monthly minimum wage varies widely across the EU, ranging from €332 in Bulgaria to €2,202 in Luxembourg (data for 2021 from Eurostat).
