{"id":6196,"date":"2023-01-31T10:04:47","date_gmt":"2023-01-31T09:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/opinions\/?p=6196"},"modified":"2023-02-28T17:11:22","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T16:11:22","slug":"eu-minimum-income","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/opinions\/eu-minimum-income\/","title":{"rendered":"The EU minimum income – so will everyone be able to pay their bills?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The European Commission has proposed\u00a0to raise\u00a0minimum incomes\u00a0to at least the poverty line\u00a0in all EU countries.\u00a0Such an adequate\u00a0EU-wide minimum income would ensure every European can live a decent life. It would guarantee everyone in the EU a living income to pay our rent, buy healthy food, continue our education, secure access to health care, and \u2013 most pressingly right now \u2013 that we can cover our energy bills.\u00a0To ensure that Member States live up to this, the Greens\/EFA advocate a binding law, namely a directive on adequate minimum income, whereas the Commission wants to stick to non-binding recommendations.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Minimum income schemes are one of the strongest social tools to lift people out of poverty. So, what exactly is<\/em> a minimum income? How could it benefit you? And what\u2019s the plan for an EU minimum income?<\/p>\n<\/div>

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What is the difference between a minimum income and a minimum wage<\/strong>?<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Minimum income is often confused with minimum wage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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A wage<\/strong> is a remuneration that people get in return for carrying out a job in the labour market. The <\/a>Greens\/EFA strongly advocate<\/a> that wages must be high enough to guarantee a decent standard of living. Recently, the EU institutions <\/a>adopted a law to introduce a minimum wage that is linked to the cost of living.<\/a> This is a big step forward towards a truly social Europe in which everybody can live a good life. Now, it is up to EU governments to apply this law as soon as possible. The cost-of-living crisis is happening now and people with low wages need this support urgently.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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A minimum income<\/strong> is a social allowance provided by public authorities to people who are temporarily, or for a longer period, out of the labour market and lack access to unemployment benefits. There can be several reasons for this. People might get sick or go through a difficult private situation. Job demand can be low in a specific region; or there can be a mismatch between offer and demand. People might lack education, skills, or the experience to get a fairly paid job. Women often perform non-paid care tasks. Those are situations that could affect any one of us at a certain point in our lives. Some people are just not able to work. In all these cases, a minimum income enables a life of dignity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

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An adequate minimum income – How much money do we need to live?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>
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Safety nets and benefit systems, such as Minimum Income Schemes, exist in all Member States. However, the level of national minimum income is not adequate<\/em>. Being adequate would mean that the allowance is high enough to cover the costs of all food, items, and services that we need to live a decent life. As of now, this is not the case in any of the EU countries.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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For a minimum income to be adequate, it needs to be set at or above the so-called \u2018poverty threshold\u2019, which is 60% of the national median income. This threshold differs enormously from country to country across the EU. In Belgium, it currently amounts to 1085 euro a month for a single person and 2279 euro for a family with two kids. Even in a rich and developed welfare state such as Belgium, 14.9 % of the population is living in poverty or at risk of social exclusion. In Bulgaria, as of 2023, the poverty threshold is equivalent to an income of 257 euro or less per month. Around 1.5 million Bulgarian citizens or 22% of the population is currently living below this level. Only in Ireland, the benefit levels are close to the national poverty threshold.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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It is not surprising then that poverty remains unacceptably high in Europe. In 2021, 95.4 million people in the EU were at risk of poverty and social exclusion, representing 21.7% of the EU population. Adequate minimum incomes would contribute greatly to the reduction of poverty.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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