Eurostat: overcrowded dwellings in EU27In EU27 42% of the overall population live in a flat, 34% 34% in a detached house2 and 23% in a semi-detached or terraced house. The figures were released in a Eurostat survey on housing conditions in the EU27 in 2009, that differ considerably between Member States”. Eurostat highlights worrying figures: “18% lived in an overcrowded dwelling”, considering various factors such as number of rooms, number of people in the household, number of rooms per children…). Furthermore, “16% lived in a dwelling where a leaking roof or damp were perceived as a problem”, 7% considered their dwelling to be too dark, 4% had no indoor flushing toilet and 3% no bath or shower. Curious elements emerged from the survey: over half of the population lived in flats in Latvia (66%), in detached houses in Slovenia and in semi-detached or terraced houses in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom”. Overcrowding is more frequent in Latvia, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania and Bulgaria. Conversely, such problem is almost absent in Cyprus, The Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Belgium and Malta.GDP per inabitants: rich and poor European regionsThe Gross Domestic Product per inhabitant in EU27 amounts to 25.100 euro; but it ranges from 88.300 euro in Inner London, to 3000 euro in the Bulgarian Severozapaden region. Eurostat released information on GDP in 271 regions of EU27, drawing a comparison between States. Accordingly, the situation is heterogeneous: in Inner London, (data in PPS, EU27 = 100), GDP amounts to 343%, while it drops to 28% in the afore-mentioned region of Bulgaria. Remarkable territorial disparities depend both on national GDP and on the degree of local development. According to Eurostat of 40 leading regions in the ranking of regional GDP per inhabitant 10 are in Germany, 5 in The Netherlands, 4 in Austria, 4 in the U.K., 3 in Spain, 3 in Italy, 2 in Belgium and Finland. The lowest regions in the ranking were all in Eastern Europe, notably in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Baltic regions. However, “poor” regions figure also in Southern Italy, Portugal and Spain.Recovery of tourism: Spain is the favourite destinationAccording to Eurostat estimates, tourism in Europe is undergoing recovery. The figures were released in a survey conducted in 2010. “In 2010, 1.6 billion nights were spent in hotels and similar establishments in the EU27”, an increase of 2.8% compared with 2009, the lowest figure registered in the last years, Eurostat experts explained. Intr-European tourism registered significant increases: hotel nights spent by non-residents grew by 5.1% in 2010. Eurostat underlines that the he decrease in the number of hotel nights spent in the EU27 began in the middle of 2008, simultaneously with the economic crisis, reaching a peak the following year. “Among the Member States, the highest numbers of nights spent in hotels in 2010 were recorded in Spain (268 million nights, +6.4% compared with 2009), Italy (245 mn, -0.8%), Germany (229 mn, +5.8%), France (196 mn) and the United Kingdom (166 mn, -2.1%)”. Negative trends were recorded in Romania, Greece, the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Italy.Eurobarometer, survey on rare diseasesRare disease patients should have the right to access appropriate care in another Member State; there should be more European cooperation and greater investments in research. On the occasion of the Rare Diseases Day (February 28), Eurobarometer released the findings of a survey conducted at European level, which shows that EU citizens demand further action to prevent and treat rare diseases that affect up to 36 million citizens in EU27. 96% of respondents believe that “national health authorities should give support to those suffering from rare diseases and fully reimburse their medication, even if it is very expensive” (93%). Over 90% of respondents agree that allocating resources for research is justified. A disease or disorder is defined as rare in the EU when it affects fewer than 5 per 10,000 citizens, such as Cystic fibrosis, Haemophilia and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The recent the Directive on Patients’ Rights in Cross-border Healthcare, will benefit patients seeking safe and good quality treatment across EU borders, providing for the reimbursement of medical expenses by national health boards.
