It's paid by the government over there, not the company. Not sure about different places in Europe, but it's also not paid at 100% (at least in Canada)
In Canada, if you're on maternity/paternity leave, you're on Employment Insurance. The maximum insurable amount is 49K or 55% of your earnings. Maximum payout is around 28K per year.
As far as I'm aware in Canada you get 60% of your pay for a full year while on maternity leave. Many companies contribute the other 40% for at least 6 months of that time.
