Social Europe - Aiming for inclusive growth

476 Pages·2015·8.95 MB·English

ISSN 2315-1552
Social Europe
Aiming for inclusive growth
Annual report of the Social Protection
Committee on the social situation
in the European Union (2014)

SOCIAL EUROPE: AIMING FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH
Annual report of the Social Protection Committee on the
social situation in the European Union (2014)
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for the use that may be made of the information contained in this publication.
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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015
ISBN 978-92-79-44100-4
doi:10.2767/355771
© European Union, 2015
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments........................................................................................................ 8
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 9
Key messages on the social situation in the EU .................................................... 11
1. Recent developments in the overarching social policy setting at EU level . 14
2. The social situation in the European Union ...................................................... 15
2.1 Macro-economic and labour market context ...................................................................................... 15
2.2 Little progress on the Europe 2020 poverty and social exclusion target .................................... 22
2.3 What are the drivers behind increased poverty and social exclusion at EU level?................... 26
2.4 Developments in the relative poverty risk .............................................................................................. 36
2.5 Deterioration in living standards and increasing depth of poverty are becoming a very
tangible consequence of the economic crisis in some countries................................................... 41
2.6 Long-term exclusion from the labour market continues to be a main driver of increasing
trends in poverty and social exclusion .................................................................................................... 47
2.7 While the overall share of working poor is stable at EU level, there is strong divergence in
trends across Member States ..................................................................................................................... 49
2.8 The situation regarding child poverty and youth exclusion is a major concern ....................... 49
2.9 Income inequality is growing across and within Member States ................................................... 58
2.10 Mixed effectiveness of income support systems for those furthest away from the labour
market ................................................................................................................................................................ 60
2.11 Consistent and widespread improvement of the employment rate of older workers ........... 64
2.12 Pensions continue to avert poverty for many though divergence in adequacy and
effectiveness remains .................................................................................................................................... 66
2.13 Access to health and health outcomes ................................................................................................... 70
2.14 Developments in access to housing and homelessness ................................................................... 74
2.15 Trends in the take-up of selected social benefits ................................................................................ 84
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2.16 Signs of more positive trends emerging regarding the number of unemployment benefit
recipients ........................................................................................................................................................... 84
2.17 Countries with downward trends in both unemployment benefit recipients and social
assistance benefit recipients ....................................................................................................................... 85
2.18 Potential continued gaps in social benefits' coverage in some Member States ....................... 86
2.19 More mixed developments in terms of the number of benefit recipients from social
assistance schemes ........................................................................................................................................ 88
3. Examining the 2013 social trends to watch ...................................................... 89
3.1 Key messages from the thematic in-depth reviews ............................................................................ 89
3.2 Social protection and youth exclusion in the EU ................................................................................. 90
3.2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 90
3.2.2 Recent trends and future challenges ..................................................................................................... 91
3.2.3 Youth employment ....................................................................................................................................... 92
3.2.4 Poverty and social exclusion of young people ................................................................................... 95
3.2.5 RISK FACTORS .................................................................................................................................................... 98
3.2.6 Future challenges ........................................................................................................................................100
3.2.7 Social inclusion and social protection of young people – policies and practices ...............101
3.2.8 Results of the in-depth thematic review .............................................................................................110
3.3 Depth of poverty .......................................................................................................................................... 112
3.3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................112
3.3.2 Recent trends ................................................................................................................................................114
3.3.3 Policy responses ...........................................................................................................................................115
3.3.4 The need for a comprehensive social investment approach ......................................................122
3.3.5 Results of the in-depth thematic review .............................................................................................122
3.4 The role of activating and enabling benefits and services in reducing long-term exclusion
from the labour market in the EU ........................................................................................................... 124
3.4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................124
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3.4.2 Recent trends ................................................................................................................................................125
3.4.3 Policies, best practices and evidence-based responses................................................................131
3.4.4 Results of the thematic in-depth review .............................................................................................141
4. The 2014 social trends to watch ....................................................................... 143
5. SPPM dashboard ................................................................................................. 148
6. Views of the European Social Partners ............................................................ 151
7. Country Profiles .................................................................................................... 161
Belgium ...................................................................................................................... 162
Bulgaria ...................................................................................................................... 173
Czech Republic ......................................................................................................... 184
Denmark .................................................................................................................... 195
Germany .................................................................................................................... 206
Estonia ........................................................................................................................ 217
Ireland ........................................................................................................................ 228
Greece ........................................................................................................................ 239
Spain ........................................................................................................................... 249
France ......................................................................................................................... 259
Croatia ........................................................................................................................ 270
Italy ............................................................................................................................. 280
Cyprus ........................................................................................................................ 289
Latvia .......................................................................................................................... 300
Lithuania .................................................................................................................... 310
Luxembourg .............................................................................................................. 321
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Hungary ..................................................................................................................... 331
Malta ........................................................................................................................... 342
Netherlands ............................................................................................................... 353
Austria ........................................................................................................................ 364
Poland ........................................................................................................................ 376
Portugal ..................................................................................................................... 387
Romania ..................................................................................................................... 398
Slovenia ...................................................................................................................... 409
Slovakia ...................................................................................................................... 420
Finland ........................................................................................................................ 431
Sweden ...................................................................................................................... 443
United Kingdom ....................................................................................................... 453
8. References ............................................................................................................. 467
9. Definitions and data sources ............................................................................. 468

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Abbreviation Full name
EU28 European Union (28 countries)
EU27 European Union (27 countries)
EA18 Euro area (18 countries)
BE Belgium
BG Bulgaria
CZ Czech Republic
DK Denmark
DE Germany
EE Estonia
IE Ireland
EL Greece
ES Spain
FR France
HR Croatia
IT Italy
CY Cyprus
LV Latvia
LT Lithuania
LU Luxembourg
HU Hungary
MT Malta
NL Netherlands
AT Austria
PL Poland
PT Portugal
RO Romania
SI Slovenia
SK Slovakia
FI Finland
SE Sweden
UK United Kingdom

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Acknowledgments
The present report has been prepared as part of the mandate given to the Social Protection
Committee (SPC) by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) to monitor the
social situation in the European Union and the development of social protection policies (art. 160
of TFEU).
The report is prepared by the Secretariat of the Committee and its Indicators' Sub-group. The
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion provided the necessary analysis
and calculations used in the report with the extensive assistance and data provision of Eurostat.
The principal authors are Paul Minty and Kornelia Kozovska, with specific contributions from
Susanne Conze, Istvan Vanyolos, Maria Ilies, Andrea Meszaros, and Regina Sauto. Eurofound
(European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions) has contributed
extensively to the section on youth exclusion and social protection. The members of the SPC and
its Indicators Subgroup contributed extensively to the drafting of the report and its key messages.
The views of the European social partners are annexed to the report. The report was approved by
the Social Protection Committee on 23 February 2015. The Council of the European Union
endorsed the conclusions of the report on 9 March 2015.
The list of SPC Members appears on the following link:
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=758&langId=en
The list of members of the SPC Indicators' Subgroup appears on the following link:
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=830&langId=en

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