31/01/2022 (Agence Europe) – Some 21 of the 27 EU Member States have a national minimum wage, with Denmark, Italy, Cyprus, Austria, Finland and Sweden being the exceptions, according to the latest figures published on Friday 28 January by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office. There were still large differences between Member States. Thirteen Member States in the east and south of the EU had a minimum wage of less than €1,000 per month, such as Bulgaria (€332), Latvia (€500), Romania (€515) and Hungary (€542). On the contrary, minimum wages were above €1,500 in France (€1,603), Germany (€1,621), Belgium (€1,658), the Netherlands (€1,725), Ireland (€1,775) and Luxembourg (€2,257). The issue of wage convergence is on the minds of the co-legislators, who have started inter-institutional negotiations on the directive on minimum wages (see EUROPE 12869/23). (PH)