BULGARIANS appear to have unrealistic expectations about what their minimum wage will be when the country joins the European Union.
This was the main conclusion of a National Public Opinion Centre poll, results of which were made public by Labour and Social Policy Minister Hristina Hristova at a seminar in the town of Sandanski, south-western Bulgaria, on April 16.
The poll was done between April 1 and 8 and covered 996 people from 86 population centres.
Fifty-one per cent of those polled considered a minimum working salary of more than 250 euro in an EU member state as adequate. According to 28 per cent, minimum pay should be 150 to 250 euro. Only 3.4 per cent thought that it should equal about 90 euro – the level that it is most likely to be.
According to Hristova, it was realistic to expect no more than a 40 per cent increase in wages in the next four years. Currently, the minimum salary equals 150 leva or about 76 euro.
More than half of the respondents said that the Bulgarians would have better prospects of finding employment both in their country and in the other EU states after the accession. At the same time, six of every 10 Bulgarians said that they would not work in another country after 2007.
Optimism regarding EU membership appears to prevail among Bulgarians. Sixty-one per cent had positive expectations, which compares to 18 per cent who had negative attitudes.
Bulgarians appeared to believe that, after joining the EU, Bulgaria would gradually get closer to EU standards. There were particularly high expectations about a reduction in unemployment and that salaries would increase.
The poll shows a relatively low level of awareness regarding EU issues and Bulgaria’s accession. Forty-seven per cent did not know whether Bulgaria had completed accession talks.
Sixty-eight per cent said they got information regarding their social rights through the media. Every fifth referred their inquiries to a relative who had worked in an EU member state. Ten per cent named the Labour Ministry as a source and a separate 10 per cent said they could not understand the information received.
The seminar in Sandanski dwelled on the social implications of Bulgaria’s forthcoming accession to the EU.
Following the country’s accession, its citizens would be able to apply for employment through the European Job Mobility Portal (EURÅS). Bulgarian citizens would have an access to job proposals across the EU, said Labour Ministry official Lilyana Stankova.
Measures agreed between the EU and Bulgaria envisage that each member country would apply its national legislation rather than the Acquis Communautaire regarding the admission of Bulgarians to the labour market within two years of the country’s accession.
Considering the options for extension of this period, the worst-case scenario is a transition period of seven years after accession. After this term, all countries will begin applying EU legislation to Bulgaria.
After integration, the social insurance period accumulated in Bulgaria will be recognised by all member states, said the Labour Ministry’s Dobrinka Boneva. Bulgarians will also have European health insurance cards after the country’s accession, Boneva said. The cards will be valid for a short-term stay in the Union. If a Bulgarian national staying in an EU country needs emergency medical care, he will be treated by local doctors because the expenses will be covered by the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). People with chronic diseases will need special permission from the NHIF to be issued a card.