Less welfare, families at risk

"The social crisis in Europe keeps worsening and in a number of Member States there is no tangible improvement in sight, while the poorest people have very often been the hardest-hit". commented László Andor, the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, on the latest Employment and Social Situation Quarterly Review published on March 26 by the European Commission. The review portrays a constant worsening labour market, while household’s financial situation remained serious with adverse effects on fertility. "Joint efforts". In fact, social and welfare measures should be taken by Member States and not by the European Union. However, with the complex community architecture, EU institutions have taken prevention, coordination and financial support measures. Europe 2020 strategy for growth, competition and cohesion highlights some goals regarding inclusion of the poor, people excluded from factories and jobs,and households reduced to indigence thresholds by the crisis. "Negative effects of public budget cuts and tax increase on labour and living standards are clear" the review notes "while net immigration to the EU dropped": also foreigners have started to avoid Europe or are leaving because they have problems in finding jobs. In facing such a troublesome situation Mr. Andor said "governments must invest to find the way to inclusive growth and to give people a real chance to make decent living" and that "the Commission’s recent Social Investment Package has highlighted ways to do this. But most of all we need more solidarity: within individual countries and also between them. We can only overcome this crisis if we stick together". Less social protection. Among the data presented by the Commission: unemployment rate of 26.6 million in the EU, or 10.8% of the economically active population". In the 17 countries that adopted the euro the unemployed are 11.9%. The unemployment rate gap between the south/periphery and the north of the euro area reached an unprecedented 10 percentage points in 2012". In the EU, GDP shrank by 0.5% during the fourth quarter of 2012, the largest contraction since early 2009. In this context – and of great concern for the Commission – overall reduction of social spending "was much stronger than in the past recessions"; tightening of public budgets has adversely affected employment both directly through public sector employment and indirectly through lower aggregate macroeconomic demand. Changes to tax and benefits systems and cuts in public sector wages have led to significant reduction in the level of real household incomes, putting a heavy strain on the living standards of low income households. The Commission calls for a careful design of budget reforms to avoid the poorest being disproportionately affected as was the case in a few countries" such as Greece, Estonia and Lithuania.Marriages and births. The Quarterly Review is based on data collected by Eurostat, that also unveil a social reality at risk. "Since 2009, fertility has stopped and stabilised at just 1.6 children per woman in the EU-27. Furthermore: " the average age of women at childbirth has kept rising and reached the 30-year threshold". Economic uncertainty plays a relevant role in the new generations and young couples. On the other hand, life expectancy continued to increase and has reached 77.4 years for men and 83.1 for women. Less births, and an ageing population: a disruptive demographic perspective, also because migration outside the Eu has decreased from its 2007 peak. Furthermore, a drop in the number of marriages in the EU which for Eurostat translates into an increase in the number of children born outside marriage. In 1990, 17% of all live births were outside marriage compared with 27% in 2000 and 40% in 2010. There are considerable differences in the share of live births outside marriage across the Member States: in 1990, almost half of live births were outside marriage in Sweden and Denmark; twenty years later the situation has changed. In 2011, the highest shares were registered in Estonia (60%), Slovenia (57%) , Bulgaria and France (both 56%) and the lowest in Greece (7%), Cyprus (17%), Poland (21%). Among the larger countries, Italy registered 23.4% of live births outside marriage, Germany 33.9%, Spain 37.4% and the United Kingdom 47.3%.