Juncker top EU earner at €317,000, Anastasiades a modest €77,000

A SURVEY of the salaries of top European Union and member state officials by Eurostat revealed the EU’s top brass, as well as northern Europe leaders, earn more than the rest of the leaders.

The survey, reported by daily Politis on Wednesday, found that European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker tops the list of highly-paid officials, with an annual salary of €317,496, trailed by his European Council counterpart Donald Tusk at €298,495.

Behind them rank EU leaders, with Angela Merkel in second place – and fourth overall, with an annual salary of €250,000 – behind Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, who earns €288,000 per year.

The top-ten list concludes with Belgium’s Charles Michel at €212,064, Sweden’s Stefan Lofven at €204,411, Denmark’s Helle Thorning-Schmidt at €195,520, the UK’s David Cameron at an even €195,000, Ireland’s Enda Kenny at €185,000, and the Dutch Premier Mark Rutte at €180,000.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades ranks 17th out of 23 leaders, earning a comparatively modest €77,182, especially when compared with the Greek Premier Alexis Tsipras, whose gig lands him €85,479 per year.

Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma earns the least in absolute numbers, landing an annual €25,285.

In terms of average labour costs in each jurisdiction, Lithuania’s Dalia Grybauskaite earns more than six times her country’s average labour cost, with Juncker and Tusk trailing her with 5.8 and 5.5 respectively.

Surprising entries in the top-ten include Hungary’s Viktor Orban, who pockets 4.5 times the country’s average wage, as well as Tsipras at 2.8.

Anastasiades ranks 18th with a ratio of 2.2 versus Cyprus’ average labour costs.

Last ranked was Mariano Rajoy at 1.8 times Spain’s average wages.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.