Leončikas, Tadas

What have been the major developments in quality of life and public services in Europe in recent years, as captured by research into these areas in Eurofound’s work programme for 2017–2020? This flagship publication provides a synthesis of the main findings on several key topics, based, in part, on European Quality of Life Survey data.

Public services are essential for achieving high levels of social protection, social cohesion and social inclusion. However, to be effective in this regard, services must be of good quality and they must be equally accessible to the broadest possible range of  citizens.

This report presents an overview of living conditions in the five current EU candidate countries – Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey. It is based on the results of the 2016 European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) and covers three broad areas: quality of life, quality of public services and quality of society. The report consists of an introductory overview chapter and five country profiles. The survey results are relevant both from a national perspective and in the context of the areas addressed in the EU enlargement process.

Feelings of insecurity in several dimensions of life are widespread in the EU population, even among those who are materially well-off. Policymakers need to take these insecurities into account to better understand the concerns and dissatisfactions of citizens.

European Quality of Life Survey 2016 New results for the EU candidate countries Event on Improving quality of life in Europe – Sharing data to shape better policies, 26 June 2018, Belgrade, Serbia Presentation by Tadas Leončikas, Senior Research Manager, Eurofound

Nearly 37,000 people in 33 European countries (28 EU Member States and 5 candidate countries) were interviewed in the last quarter of 2016 for the fourth wave of the European Quality of Life Survey. This overview report presents the finding...

EU citizens are increasingly concerned that today’s young people will have fewer opportunities for upward social mobility than their parents’ generation. This report maps patterns of intergenerational social mobility in the EU countries. It first looks at absolute social mobility – how societies have changed in terms of structural and occupational change and societal progress. Then it turns to relative social mobility (‘social fluidity’) – the opportunities for individuals to move between occupational classes. The story of recent social mobility is explored using data from the European Social Survey (ESS) and findings from Eurofound’s Network of European correspondents across the EU Member States.

Migration is a major policy concern at national and European level. However, while Member States have put in place specific regulations to deal with certain aspects, the overall architecture of migration-related policies is perceived as a challenge. In recent months, the significant inflow of refugees has profoundly changed the situation in Europe.

This policy brief highlights findings on a specific topic from Eurofound’s European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) that is of particular interest from a policy perspective. It brings together results from the analysis of EQLS data and evidence from other sources to formulate a number of policy pointers. The focus of this policy brief is findings on trust in national and European political institutions and on civic engagement during the economic crisis.

What determines life satisfaction and happiness? How do we value our social situation and immediate surroundings? How has this changed with the economic crisis? For the third wave of the European Quality of Life survey, 35,500 Europeans in all EU Member States were interviewed, in an effort to gain insights to these questions. This overview report presents findings and trends and shows that the impacts of the recession are indeed noticeable and measurable in some areas, while in others there are more long-term developments to be observed. While overall life satisfaction levels have not changed much, optimism about the future and trust in institutions have declined markedly in those countries most affected by the downturn. And groups that were already vulnerable – the long-term unemployed, older people in central and eastern Europe and single parents – report the highest levels of material deprivation and dissatisfaction with their life situation.