Quality of Life in Urban and Rural Europe

Europe has large geographical differences in terms of economic and social development. Differences emerge both between and within Member States and regions, but also between urban and rural areas within regions. This has relevance for the Europe 2020 Strategy with regard to its objectives of inclusive growth and social cohesion (European Commission, 2010). The Social Investment Package (SIP) promotes efficient and effective social policies that respond to and support people’s needs throughout their lives, recognising the spatial dimension as an important element of good governance. To this end, the European Commission’s country-specific recommendations take into account spatial aspects (European Commission, 2012). This policy brief explores differences in quality of life in urban and rural Europe drawing on Eurofound’s third European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS). Previous research has found important differences in material deprivation and living standards between urban and rural areas especially in poorer Member States, while other aspects of quality of life also differ between urban and rural areas in richer countries (Eurofound, 2006). This document builds on these findings, adding analysis of recent data and paying attention to the impacts of the crisis

Social Situation of Young People in Europe

[Excerpt] European policy on the situation of young people is framed by the EU Youth Strategy 2010–2018, which has two overall objectives: to provide more and equal opportunities for young people in education and in the labour market; and to encourage young people to be active citizens and participate in society. The strategy is centred on eight activity fields, many of which reflect a broad social‑inclusion approach, including voluntary activities, health and well‑being and participation. This policy brief provides information on several of these dimensions

Social Cohesion and Well-Being in the EU

At European level, social and economic policies are currently ordered and organised around achieving the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy - high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion (1). It is widely recognised, however, that social cohesion is declining or at least under new pressures as a consequence of the economic and employment crisis, but also due to longer-term trends including growing inequality, immigration and increasing cultural diversity (2). A new report on \u27Social justice in the EU\u27 from the Bertelsmann Stiftung shows that social disparities in the EU are increasing in relation to poverty, labour market access, health, equitable education as well as intergenerational justice (3). A t the same time, social cohesion is generally valued in and of itself, as it reflects solidarity and social harmony, while also being regarded as an important resource for economic success and quality of life. In general terms, well-being has become established as a fundamental objective of EU policies; Article 3 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) states that the Union\u27s aim is to promote \u27the well-being of its peoples\u27. Likewise the European Sustainable Development Strategy of 2006 cites the well-being of present and future generations as its central objective. Europe 2020 aims to put people first to create \u27more jobs and better lives\u27. It has adopted a number of targets that go beyond conventional measures of economic performance, with goals to reduce poverty and social exclusion, to promote education and employment. Over the past decade there have been growing demands from politicians, the media and public opinion to develop better approaches to measure economic and social progress and to monitor well-being in a more comprehensive way (4). In particular, the European Commission\u27s (2009) Communication on \u27GDP and beyond\u27 underlined the need for measurement of quality of life and well-being as outcome indicators, and highlighted the importance of more accurate reporting on the distributional aspects and corresponding inequalities. It concluded that ultimately, national and EU policies will be judged on whether they are successful in delivering (social, economic and environmental) goals and improving the well-being of Europeans. (5). This policy brief examines how significant social cohesion is for the well-being of people in Europe. It considers, in particular, how income inequalities are related to social cohesion and well-being. It is based upon existing reports (2,4) and specifically upon the analyses in a report prepared for the Bertelsmann Stiftung (6)

Fraudulent Contracting of Work: Sham Companies (Austria, Estonia and Italy)

[Excerpt] Among the fraudulent contracting of work practices, one of the most difficult to identify is the creation of sham companies (usually, in another country). Sham companies are essentially new entities created to disguise the real employer. Creating a company, even abroad, is – of course – legal and may well be institutionally and economically advisable. However, when the only purpose of its creation is to benefit from more favourable regulations relating to labour and tax (and not to develop an activity in the country), then questions should be asked about the ‘genuine’ nature of the company. The Eurofound study Exploring the fraudulent contracting of work in the European Union emphasises that the term ‘sham contracting’ or ‘sham companies’ embraces a diversity of fraudulent practices, embedded in different institutional contexts (Eurofound, 2016a).1 Fraudulent practices are perpetrated for different purposes, the most important of which are to avoid paying, or to save, employment-related taxes and social security contributions, and to evade employers’ liability towards employees. Beyond some recent analysis of ‘letter-box’ companies,2 there is not much research into sham contracting or sham companies. In addition, EU legislation has not played any role in this respect. Sham companies share the common goal of disguising the real employer. This can be achieved through different mechanisms such as: the creation of companies without assets, generally within subcontracting chains commercial or civil law contracts between companies where employees are misrepresented as contractors or company owners workers’ cooperatives, where workers lack actual control over the organisation’s decisions

Foundation Focus (Issue 18): Workers in Europe: Mobility and Migration

[Excerpt] This issue of Foundation Focus looks at mobility and migration in the EU. It reviews the policy background and the practical issues that relate to movement between EU countries by EU citizens and into the EU from third countries. What is the extent of labour mobility within the EU? How can the fundamental rights of refugees and migrants from outside the EU be protected? How does intra-EU mobility impact on public services? What have social partners done to address the integration of third-country nationals and challenges for EU labour markets? What has already been learned about successful local integration policies for migrants? It draws on Eurofound’s extensive research findings in this area

Fraudulent Contracting of Work: Abusing Traineeship Status (Austria, Finland, Spain and UK)

[Eurofound) In recent years, traineeships have become an important entry point into the labour market for young people across Europe. As outlined in a Flash Eurobarometer report (European Commission, 2013a), more young people report having done a traineeship (46%) than an apprenticeship or student job (both 26%). The report also shows that traineeships particularly apply to those aged between 25 and 29 (50%) but also those aged 30–34 (43%), with traineeships being more common among those who have graduated from university. However, European and national stakeholders express growing concern regarding abuses of the system, poor working conditions and fraudulent practices, including the replacement of regular workers with trainees. A European Commission proposal for a quality framework for traineeships noted evidence of traineeships providing insufficient learning content (for example, trainees being asked to carry out menial tasks) and offering inadequate working conditions, with long working hours, unsatisfactory coverage in terms of health and safety and occupational risks, and little or no remuneration or compensation (European Commission, 2013b)

Foundation Focus: Sustainable Work: Toward Better and Longer Working Lives

The ageing of European society is leading to a situation where, at current employment levels, supporting the retired population will become increasingly unaffordable. The proposed solution can be summed up simply: bring more of the working age population into work and extend everyone’s working life. Achieving these objectives presents a significant challenge, however. People stay out of the workforce or leave it for many reasons, and the nature of work itself is often the core of the problem: it does not adapt to the different needs of different people; it does not adjust in step with the ageing of workers; it does not motivate them to stay on. Work may even damage the health of workers, forcing them out of the workforce. This issue of Foundation Focus looks at the different aspects of both life and work that influence a worker’s ability and availability to work over the course of their lives

Work-Life Balance and Flexible Working Arrangements in the European Union

[Excerpt] The reconciliation of work and life responsibilities has become an increasingly relevant policy topic in recent decades. It has an implicit societal value linked to gender equality and quality of life. It also has an economic dimension, with poor work–life balance clearly hampering participation in the labour market, the latter having been defined as a key objective of the European growth strategy. The female employment rate (20-64 years) is lower than that of men across the European Union (65.3% versus 76.9% in 2016), the gap between men’s and women’s employment rates ranging from 27.6 percentage points in Malta and 20.1 percentage points in Italy at one end to Lithuania and Latvia at the other (where the difference lies at only 1.9 and 2.9 percentage points respectively). The overall cost of this gender employment gap is estimated by Eurofound to represent 2.8% of GDP (Eurofound, 2016b). Work–life balance covers several aspects of social life and the range of relevant policy fields is exceptionally broad. It includes taxation, not least as regards second family members and various social services, particularly those related to childcare and long-term care. The proposals in the Initiative to support work–life balance for working parents and carers, set out in the Commission Communication of April 2017, were mainly concerned with the relationship between work and care and outlined legislative and non-legislative measures for parents, fathers and carers (European Commission, 2017). It also had proposals to enhance opportunities for flexible work arrangements and this is the focus of the present note. While flexible working arrangements do not involve any direct additional cost to public budgets in Member States, it may be that if successfully implemented throughout workplaces in the EU they could be a very effective stimulus to work–life balance. While shorter working time and more flexible working arrangements may, in some cases, entail costs for companies, they can also have positive effects on productivity. There are many actors who can actively contribute to achieving more flexible working arrangements. The potential role of the social partners is obvious. But even employers and employees on the ground in the millions of workplaces throughout Europe should be encouraged to examine practical solutions to enhance work–life balance that would suit the specificities of their particular workplace. Care is a highly gendered issue in terms of care for both children and dependent relatives. Data from the European Working Conditions Survey 2015 (EWCS) show that in every Member State women still have the main caring responsibility (Eurofound, 2016c). They also reveal that the involvement of men in care varies quite considerably across Member States

Involvement of the Social Partners in the European Semester: 2016 Update

[Excerpt] The European Semester is a key component of economic governance in the European Union, aimed at coordinating the fiscal and economic policies of Member States. Although the role of social partners in the process is not defined in the European economic governance provisions, European institutions consider them to be key actors and have called for them to be more closely involved. The participation of the social partners is crucial for enhancing the ownership of European policies and ensuring meaningful implementation, as acknowledged in the Employment Guidelines

New Forms of Employment

Societal and economic developments, such as the need for increased flexibility by both employers and workers, have resulted in the emergence of new forms of employment across Europe. These have transformed the traditional one-to-one relationship between employer and employee. They are also characterised by unconventional work patterns and places of work, or by the irregular provision of work. However, little is known about these ‘new forms of employment’, their distinctive features and the implications they have for working conditions and the labour market. To fill this knowledge gap, Eurofound conducted a Europe-wide mapping exercise to identify the emerging trends. This resulted in the categorisation of nine broad types of new employment forms. On the basis of this, the available literature and data were analysed; 66 case studies were also conducted and analysed to illustrate how these new employment forms operate in Member States and their effects on working conditions and the labour market