Joint index (= cost of living changes, Belgium/Luxembourg) +2.5 %
Specific indicator (= change in purchasing power of national civil servants) +0.5 %
2025 update +3.0 %
Pension contribution +1.0 %
Average net effect of the increase in pension contribution +0.7 %
(depends on each staff member’s personal situation)
Overall average net effect on remuneration +2.3 %
The update of salaries and pensions, based on the Method, which was developed by Union Syndicale more than 50 years ago, aims to ensure that these develop in parallel with the salaries of national civil servants in the Member States (with the calculation made on the basis of a select sample of 10 Member States – see below). Past data has shown us that this parallel development has been broadly in line with inflation over the long term.
Since 2020, the economic situation has led to the application of different mechanisms, making our system fairly complex (exception clause, moderation clause and intermediate update). This year, we are going back to an annual update that follows the usual rules.
It should be noted that the 1.2 % update of April 2025 is entirely unrelated to the 2025 update and is a carry-over to amend the 2024 update, owing to the application of the moderation clause.
Recap of the procedure
On the basis of data provided by the Member States and checked by Eurostat, Eurostat draws up a report detailing changes in the purchasing power of civil servants in a ‘basket’ of 10 Member States (= specific indicator) as well as the inflation rates in Belgium and Luxembourg. The inflation rates are calculated on the basis of the national price indices. They take into account our spending patterns and a staff distribution of around 80 % in Belgium and 20 % in Luxembourg. Until 2020, the basket comprised 11 Member States, including the United Kingdom.
Once Eurostat has published its report, the Commission takes note of it, informs the other institutions and asks the PMO to amend its IT data and programme accordingly. The new salary scale is then published for information purposes in the C series of the Official Journal in around mid- December, at which point we receive our payslips indicating the adjusted amounts.
Changes in the purchasing power of national civil servants (specific indicator)
Between July 2024 and July 2025, our colleagues in the basket of 10 Member States saw changes in their purchasing power ranging from -4.9 % (Germany) to +14.3 % (Poland). On a GDP-weighted average, the overall result is an increase of +0.5 %. This is mainly due to increases in Poland and Italy, and is despite the sharp decrease in Germany.
In Italy, a collective agreement signed in 2022 resulted in a gross nominal wage increase of 6.5 % this year (3.2 % net after inflation), while in Poland the gross nominal wage rose by 24.6 % (18.2 % net and 14.3 % excluding inflation). In Germany, the decrease in purchasing power is due to the non-renewal of a 3 % bonus granted last year and, in particular, to the fact that the Bundestag has not yet adopted the new collective agreement for the public service, which will include a retroactive salary increase.
Union Syndicale requests that the 2025 outcome of the Method be corrected as soon as possible, with retroactive application for 2025. We will do
everything in our power to achieve it and we expect that it would result in a +0.75% impact on our salaries.
Cost of living changes in Belgium and Luxembourg (Belgium/Luxembourg joint index)
The change in the cost of living from July 2024 to July 2025 was +2.5 %, taking into account our spending patterns and a weighting of around 80 %/20 % between Belgium (+2.5 %) and Luxembourg (+2.4 %) – see above.
The +3.0 % update and the increase in the pension contribution, both backdated to 1 July 2025, will be included in our December salaries.
Updates from previous years
2013 and 2014
No update (European Council instruction linked to the negotiation of the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework).
2015 to 2019
traditional application of the Method, with outcomes varying from +1.5 % to +3.3 %.
2020
+0.7 %: application of the exception clause – the ‘purchasing power’ component
(+2.5 %) was deferred indefinitely owing to the decrease in GDP and the update
applied only to the ‘cost of living’ component.
2021
+1.9 %: the +2.5 % deferred from 2020 was frozen.
2022
+7.0 %, i.e. +2.4 % in June backdated to January owing to high inflation, +2 % in December backdated to July and +2.5 % carried over from 2020.
2023
+2.7 %, i.e. +1.7 % in June backdated to January owing to high inflation, +1 % in December backdated to July
2024
+8.5 %, i.e. +3.0 % in June backdated to January owing to high inflation, +5.3 %
in December, of which +4.1 % was backdated to July and +1.2 % was carried over
to April 2025 on account of the moderation clause.
Union Syndicale hopes that this update, and the five months backdated along with it, which is due around mid-December, will help to make your end-of-year holidays as enjoyable as possible.
