First European Quality of Life Survey: Quality of life in Bulgaria and Romania - Summary

The report, on which this summary is based, provides the first comprehensive analysis of quality of life in Bulgaria and Romania in a European context. It explores both the objective living conditions of people in Bulgaria and Romania and their subjective well-being, along with people’s perceptions of the society in which they live. Although quality of life is not a criterion for accession to the EU, researching this sphere can contribute to understanding the disparities in the various realms of people’s lives and to identifying appropriate measures that are needed in order to reach social cohesion at European level. Moreover, the comparisons between Bulgaria and Romania and between the selected groups of EU Member States provide an interesting frame of reference for the continuing debate on EU enlargement.