Half of family income goes on housing and foodHalf of the income of European families is used to pay the costs for food and housing; transport costs are increasing while those for culture remain limited. But the differences between countries are considerable. This is conformed by Eurostat, with a publication on family income and investments, based on 2005 data (the latest available). “A third of the expenditures of families – writes the EU statistics office – is devoted to housing, including utility bills for gas, electricity and water”. Mortgages or rents absorb over 33% of the family budget; 19% is allocated to food, 12% to means of transport, 8% to recreation and culture, and less than 6% to clothing. Languishing at the bottom of the classification are healthcare (3%) and schooling (1%). The largest outgoings for housing are registered in Bulgaria and Luxembourg, the lowest in Romania and Malta. As for food, a Romanian family spends as much as half of its income on this, while the percentage spent on food is 37% in Lithuania, and only 12% in Great Britain and Sweden. A number of curiosities are pointed out in the report. Less than 2% of family income is spent on meat in Sweden, in contrast to 12% in Romania. Newspapers and books oscillate from 0.6% in Bulgaria to 2.4% in Malta. EU Pact on mental illness11% of European citizens suffer from some form of mental illness, including depression. The number of suicides remains high in EU member countries. For these reasons the European Commission, together with the European Council and World Health Organization, has launched a “European Pact for mental health and well-being”: a conference on the subject was also held in Brussels in mid-June. From the data published by the Executive it emerges that suicide, which is linked to mental illness in 90% of cases, is “one of the main causes of premature death in Europe and gave rise to 58,000 deaths in 2006, exceeding the number of those killed in road accidents”. It is also estimated that “some 50% of mental disorders have their origin in adolescence”. The EU Pact is in essence an appeal for action to be taken in partnership between politicians, medical, healthcare and scientific authorities, and civil society. “Mental health is a good for everyone and we need to overcome the taboos and stigma that are still attached to these diseases”, explained Androulla Vassiliou, EU Commissioner for Health. “To tackle the problem, ministers and experts from all over Europe have pledged to work together – added Vassiliou – and to concentrate on five priority spheres: prevention of suicide and depression; mental health among the young, on the workplace, and among the elderly; and the fight against social exclusion”. The EU is planning a series of conferences and meetings over the next two years to define and specify ways of acting in this field. Air transport: safer and cleaner skies”Safer, more ecological and punctual flights”: that’s what is promised by the European Commission, which adopted its second legislative package denominated “Single European Sky” on 25 June. The provision “contains proposals aimed at improving quality, reducing costs and containing delays”, but also at “cutting consumption of fuel oil, with a saving for air companies of up to 16 millions tons of CO2 emissions and 2-3 billion euros per year in terms of costs”. The package contains measures to reorganize air links between European cities, improve airport infrastructures, and introduce modern and sustainable technologies from the ecological point of view. According to the Executive this reform “will permit [the EU] to address the predicted doubling of air traffic between now and 2020”. Antonio Tajani, EU Commissioner for Transport, explains: “The European sky is still fragmented, with the result that every flight is on average 49 km longer than necessary. Our proposal is aimed at reducing waiting times for takeoff and landing, so that passengers have a better chance of arriving on time. At the same time, the package will permit Europeans to fly in a safer” and more sustainable way. Less bureaucracy and more aid for small businessesMore reactive public administrations, less red tape, facilitated access to credit, funds for innovation and research, and reduced VAT for locally provided services: these are some of the guiding principles established by the new law on small and medium businesses, adopted by the EU on 25 June. The law – the Small Business Act – fixes commitments shared between Commission and national governments with the aim of supporting those firms, active in various sectors of production, that have less than 250 employees and that represent 98% of all European businesses. It “alleviates bureaucratic hurdles, reduces red tape and facilitates 23 million small and medium businesses”, said the President of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso, in explaining the purpose of the provision which is intended to “support these firms and create a springboard to turn them into viable competitors at the international level”.
