According to a study conducted by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, minimum wage levels vary considerably across the EU member states.
These figures reveal significant disparities between different countries of the European Union, particularly between Eastern Europe and Western and Northern Europe.
A two-speed Europe?
As of January 1, 2018, the monthly minimum wage level varied significantly from one member state to another, from €261 in Bulgaria to €1,999 in Luxembourg, meaning Luxembourg’s minimum wage is eight times higher!
Eurostat identifies three main groups of countries: in addition to Bulgaria, eight other countries have a monthly minimum wage below €500: Lithuania (€400), Romania (€408), Latvia (€430), Hungary (€445), Croatia (€462), the Czech Republic (€478), Slovakia (€480), and Estonia (€500).
Five countries pay a minimum wage between €500 and €1,000: €677 in Portugal, €684 in Greece, €748 in Malta, €843 in Slovenia, and €859 in Spain.
Finally, among the countries with a minimum wage higher than €1,000, we find the United Kingdom (€1,401), Germany (€1,498), France (€1,498), Belgium (€1,563), the Netherlands (€1,578), and Ireland (€1,614), far behind Luxembourg.
As a reminder, six of the twenty-eight EU countries have not established a national minimum wage: Denmark, Italy, Cyprus, Austria, Finland, and Sweden.
This situation is not new, and wage convergence within the EU remains one of the most divisive topics in European economic policy.
