European Quality of Life Survey 2003

The Foundation’s research into quality of life in Turkey is largely based on findings from the EQLS, supplemented by national data, academic surveys and related social science studies. The research offers a comparison of the social circumstances of people in Turkey with those in the ‘old’ EU15 Member States, the 10 new Member States admitted in 2004, and with Turkey’s neighbours Bulgaria and Romania, who joined the EU at the beginning of 2007.

This timely report draws on some of the findings of the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS), along with other pieces of key research, on issues affecting quality of life in the candidate country, Turkey. Never before has a candidate country as unique and diverse as Turkey raised such interesting challenges for the EU. A country of contrasts, Turkey embraces many anomalies which are increasingly being placed under the spotlight, given its EU candidacy status.

This report summarises the main findings of the survey as presented in the reports and explores the implications of these findings for EU policy, along with challenges for future policies. Among the more interesting findings are the perception of strong social support networks across Europe, the differences in levels of satisfaction both within and between countries, and the variation in perceived sources of tension in EU countries. Another key finding is the significant impact of social circumstances on perceived quality of life – for example, the strong influence that individual income levels, as well as national prosperity levels, appear to have on subjective well-being.

This report addresses the key issue of time use and work–life options over the life course. The report aims to contribute to current debates on the subject, placing them in the wider context of 25 European countries and viewing them from a life course perspective. It considers the ways in which the institutional and policy framework can be expected to affect actual and preferred patterns of time use over the life course, focusing on distinct stages of the life course. It investigates individuals’ views on available working time options, while exploring their preferences regarding measures designed to help them reconcile their different time-demanding commitments.

This analytical report addresses the important question concerning the extent to which quality of work influences people’s overall quality of life. More specifically, the report undertakes a detailed analysis of how working conditions, job satisfaction and work–life balance affect life satisfaction. Central to this analysis is describing how the characteristics of the work situation affect people’s subjective life satisfaction. In doing so, the report reaches some significant conclusions, in particular the strong correlation between working conditions and job satisfaction, which in turn is shown to affect people’s overall life satisfaction.

This analytical report addresses the interesting theme of participation in civil society, exploring the diverse range of activities that constitute active participation. A central part of the analysis involves identifying factors that influence participation, or in other words understanding why some people are active in civil society and why others are not. In doing so, it underlines that wide range of factors – from individual to national resources and from sociological to historical influences – that determine the level and type of participation.

This report explores the issue of urban–rural differences in Europe according to a number of quality of life domains, namely: income and deprivation; housing; employment and education; work–life balance; access to work, school, family, friends and services; and subjective well-being.

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.

This report explores quality of life in the context of housing conditions. It reveals important differences in housing conditions across European countries, in particular, the basic divide running between the ‘old’ EU15 Member States and the 10 new Member States, along with Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. It finds that, in addition to living space and standard of accommodation, quality of life is largely dependent on factors such as personal safety, proximity to local infrastructure and the quality of the environment such as clear water, clean air and green areas.

The report, on which this summary is based, explores quality of life in the context of housing conditions. It reveals significant differences in housing conditions across European countries, in particular, the basic divide running between the ‘old’ EU15 Member States and the 10 new Member States (NMS), along with Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey (ACC3). It finds that, in addition to living space and standard of accommodation, quality of life is largely dependent on factors such as personal safety, proximity to local infrastructure and the quality of the environment such as clear water, unpolluted air and green areas.