(19 February 2018) – The Bertelsmann Foundation has published its EU Social Justice Index Report for 2017. It shows that Europe is recovering not only economically, but also in the domain of social justice.
Rising poverty, youth unemployment and impending sovereign bankruptcies – Europe has been undergoing a stress test almost permanently since the financial crisis began in 2008.
After years of downward movement, an upward trend in the domain of social justice is evident in the broad majority of EU member states. Although far from all member states have regained their pre-crisis levels, the most recent EU Social Justice Index data give cause for hope that the worst is over not just in economic terms, but also from a social perspective.
The EU Social Justice Index is based on 6 indicators: Poverty prevention, Equitable education, Labour market access, Social cohesion and non-discrimination, Health, and Intergenerational justice.
At the top of this year’s Social Justice Index are the northern European states of Denmark, Sweden and Finland. Rounding out the top group are the Czech Republic, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Austria and Germany, while Greece, despite again posting slight gains this year, remains clearly in last place.