Bulgaria minimum wage formula may exceed EUR 672.80

That matters because the new mechanism would replace the old rule tying the minimum wage to 50% of average pay, a benchmark critics say would have delivered a higher floor. The opposition says the draft could leave the minimum wage at least EUR 21 below what workers would have received under the current formula, a difference that would hit low-income households in a country still grappling with cost-of-living pressures.

The stakes are broader than one wage line. A lower or slower-rising minimum wage can ease pressure on employers in labor-intensive industries, but it also risks keeping domestic demand weaker and widening the gap between pay and living costs. Bulgaria’s government says it wants the wage to eventually reach 60% of median pay and the cost of living, a target that could pull the floor higher over time if productivity and wages keep rising.

For investors, the debate matters for consumer-facing companies, retailers and employers with large low-wage workforces, as well as for the euro-area growth outlook and policy expectations around real income gains. The draft also leaves room for the cabinet to set a higher figure if social partners fail to agree, keeping the final outcome politically sensitive.

The proposal now moves through parliament and the social commission, with uncertainty likely to persist until the government sets the final 2027 level later this year. Any number above EUR 672.80 would tighten labor costs further, while a weaker outcome would deepen political criticism that the new system is less generous than the old one.