Social Reporting of the European Union – Description of the Organization

Abstract

One of the European Commission’s key tasks in the area of social affairs is the regular monitoring of the social situation and of the national policies in the EU. The focus on social development is also part of the European Union’s commitment to sustainable development. Over the recent decades, with the variety of social topics becoming broader, more robust and more detailed, the Commission has established a solid and transparent underlying knowledge-base which has led to establishing ‘indicator sets’, on employment, living conditions, income, education, health, social protection, crime, etc. In 2009, the Commission agreed on a new road map for a better measurement of progress of our societies, complementing GDP with additional indicators, such as indicators on quality of life and on wellbeing, on ‘environmental sustainability’ and on ‘household income, consumption and wealth’. The Europe2020 Strategy which the European Council adopted in 2010 includes five headline targets, inter alia on employment, education and reducing poverty. This article gives an overview of the Commission’s activities of social reporting and social statistics with examples of web-based dissemination and paper publications.

Annexes

Annex I: Europe 2020 Strategy

Three priorities:

• Smart growth – developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation;

• Sustainable growth – promoting a more resource efficient, greener and more competitive economy;

• Inclusive growth – fostering a high-employment economy delivering economic, social and territorial cohesion.

Five headline targets, eight headline indicators ( in italics ) and three sub-indicators :

• 1. 75 % of the population aged 20–64 should be employed

  Employment rate – age group 20–64

• 2. 3 % of the EU’s GDP should be invested in R&D

  Gross domestic expenditure on R&D

• 3. The ‘20/20/20’ climate/energy targets – reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions by 20 % compared to 1990; increasing the share of renewable energy sources in final energy consumption to 20 %; 20 % increase in energy efficiency

  Greenhouse gas emissions

  Share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption

  Primary energy consumption

• 4. The share of early school leavers should be under 10 % and at least 40 % of 30–34 years old should have completed tertiary or equivalent education

  Early leavers from education and training

  Tertiary educational attainment

• 5. Reduction of poverty – by aiming to lift at least 20 million people out of the risk of poverty or exclusion

  People at risk of poverty or social exclusion, with subindicators:

  People living in households with very low work intensity

  People at risk of poverty after social transfers

  People severely materially deprived

Seven flagship initiatives :

• Smart growth: Innovation Union, Youth on the move, A digital agenda for Europe

• Sustainable growth: Resource efficient Europe, An industrial policy for the globalization era

• Inclusive growth: An agenda for new skills and jobs, European platform against poverty

Annex II: The European Semester

EPSCO Council: Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council

Annex III: Quality of Life Indicators – List of Topics and Sub-topics

Dimension		Topic/subtopic
1	Material living conditions
	1.1	Income
	1.2	Consumption
	1.2.1	Constrained consumption
	1.2.2	Non-market consumption and government provided services (including STIK)
	1.3	Material conditions
	1.3.1	Material deprivation
	1.3.2	Housing conditions
2	Productive or main activity
	2.1	Quantity of employment
	2.1.1	Unemployment
	2.1.2	Underemployment, quantity
	2.1.3	Underemployment, quality
	2.2	Quality of employment
	2.2.1	Income and benefits of employment
	2.2.2	Health and safety at work
	2.2.3	Work/life balance
	2.2.4	Temporary work
	2.3	Quality of main activity
	2.4	Subjective appreciation
3	Health
	3.1	Outcomes
	3.1.1	Life expectancy
	3.1.2	Morbidity & health status
	3.2	Drivers: healthy and unhealthy behaviors
	3.3	Access to healthcare
4	Education
	4.1	Competences and skills
	4.1.1	Educational attainment
	4.1.2	Self-reported skills
	4.1.3	Assessed skills
	4.2	Lifelong learning
	4.3	Opportunities for education
5	Leisure and social interactions
	5.1	Leisure
	5.1.1	Quantity of leisure: availability and time use, including personal care: satisfaction with time to do the things that people like
	5.1.2	Quality of leisure
	5.1.3	Access
	5.2	Social interactions
	5.2.1	Activities with people (including feelings of loneliness)
	5.2.2	Activities for people (volunteering and care)
	5.2.3	Supportive relationships
	5.2.4	Social cohesion (interpersonal trust, perceived tensions, inequalities)
6	Economic and physical safety
	6.1	Economic security and vulnerability
	6.1.1	Wealth (assets)
	6.1.2	Debt
	6.1.3	Income insecurity (including job)
	6.2	Physical and personal security
	6.2.1	Crime
	6.2.2	Perception of physical safety
7	Governance and basic rights
	7.1	Institutions and public services
	7.1.1	Trust and/or satisfaction in institutions
	7.1.2	Trust and/or satisfaction in public services
	7.2	Discrimination and equal opportunities
	7.3	Active citizenship
8	Natural and living environment
	8.1	Pollution (including noise)
	8.2	Access to green and recreational spaces
	8.3	Landscape and built environment
8 + 1	Overall experience of life
	9.1	Life satisfaction
	9.2	Affects
	9.3	Meaning and purpose

Annex IV: Variables of the 2013 Ad-Hoc Module on ‘Subjective Wellbeing’ for EU-SILC

• I. Overall experience of life (2)

  • Overall life satisfaction

  • Meaning of life

• II. Material living conditions (2)

  • Satisfaction with financial situation

  • Satisfaction with accommodation

• III. Health (5)

  • Being very nervous

  • Feeling down in the dumps

  • Feeling calm and peaceful

  • Feeling downhearted or depressed

  • Being happy

• IV. Productive and valued activities (3)

  • Job satisfaction

  • Satisfaction with commuting time

  • Satisfaction with time use

• V. Governance and basic rights (3)

  • Trust in the political system

  • Trust in the legal system

  • Trust in the police

• VI. Leisure and social interactions (4)

  • Satisfaction with personal relationships

  • Personal matters (anyone to discuss with)

  • Help from others

  • Trust in others

• VII. Natural and living environment (2)

  • Satisfaction with recreational and green areas

  • Satisfaction with living environment

• VIII. Economic and physical safety (1)

  • Physical security

Annex V: Examples of Topics of Commission Publications on Social Reporting

Employment and Social Developments in Europe (Annual Reviews)

• 2011: six chapters integrating employment and social issues

  • Shifts in job structure

  • Income inequalities

  • Poverty and social exclusion

  • In-work poverty

  • Active ageing

  • Workers’ mobility after enlargement

• 2012 themes:

  • Dynamics of poverty and long-term exclusion

  • Long-Term unemployment

  • Effectiveness and efficiency of welfare systems

  • Impact of taxation on labor market and social outcomes

  • Wages and productivity

  • Skill mismatches

  • Migration (including inclusion of migrants)

Quarterly Reviews

• Employment and social trends

  • Quarterly LFS data, by social groups

  • Consumer surveys by income quintiles (monthly data)

• Special focuses (i.e.)

  • Child poverty

  • Material deprivation

  • Efficiency of social spending

  • Euro barometer results