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Special Eurobarometer 509 Social Issues Special Eurobarometer 509 Report Social Issues Fieldwork November - December 2020 Survey requested by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers and co-ordinated by the Directorate-General for Communication This document does not represent the point of view of the European Commission. The interpretations and opinions contained in it are solely those of the authors. Special Eurobarometer 509 – Wave EB94.2 – Kantar Special Eurobarometer 509 Report Social Issues November - December 2020 Survey conducted by Kantar on behalf of Kantar Belgium at the request of the European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Survey co-ordinated by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM “Media monitoring and Eurobarometer” Unit) Project title Special Eurobarometer 509 – November - December 2020 “Social Issues” Report Linguistic version EN Catalogue number KE-02-21-136-EN-N ISBN 978-92-76-29820-5 doi:10.2767/14984 © European Union, 2021 http://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion Social Issues Special Eurobarometer 509 November - December 2020 Report TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2 KEY FINDINGS 4 I. VIEWS OF PEOPLE ON SOCIAL ISSUES AT EU LEVEL 6 1. Importance of a social Europe 6 2. Decision-making on social issues at EU level 21 II. AWARNESS AND VIEWS ON EUROPEAN PILLAR OF SOCIAL RIGHTS 32 III. VIEWS OF PEOPLE ON THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL EUROPE 41 1. Importance of social rights for the future of Europe 41 2. Actions to be taken by national governments for building the future of Europe 52 3. Actions to be taken by the EU for building the future of Europe 59 4. Europeans’ predictions for the future of Social Europe 69 CONCLUSIONS 73 ANNEXES Technical specifications Questionnaire Tables 1 Social Issues Special Eurobarometer 509 November - December 2020 Report INTRODUCTION Social justice is the foundation of the European Social market economy and is at the heart of our Union.1 It underpins the idea that social fairness and prosperity are the cornerstones for building a resilient society with the highest standards of well-being in the world. All Europeans should have the same opportunities to thrive. Many still struggle to make ends meet or face barriers due to inequalities. Many children and young people, often from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, do not have access to quality education or healthcare. There are still many elderly without access to care services. Inequality is a brake on growth and threatens social cohesion. To address these challenges, the EU institutions jointly proclaimed the European Pillar of Social Rights in November 20172. The Pillar is about delivering new and more effective rights for citizens. It builds upon 20 key principles, structured around three categories: equal opportunities and access to the labour market; fair working conditions; and social protection and inclusion. Three years after the launch of the European Pillar of Social Rights, it is relevant to explore Europeans’ attitudes towards social issues in the European Union as a whole also in the context of the announced action plan to further implement the Pillar. This survey was commissioned by the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion to explore public opinion about social issues in the European Union. It covers the following topics: . The importance of a social Europe to Europeans personally; . The most important elements for the EU’s economic and social development; . Assessment of a lack of social rights as a serious problem; . More or less decision-making at European level regarding 15 key principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights; . Europeans’ awareness of the European Pillar of Social Rights; . Views on the impact of the European Pillar of Social Rights on employment and social inclusion in the EU and on its chances of success; . Opinions about the possibility of a more social Europe in 2030; . Key principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights which are the most important for the future of Europe; . On which of these principles should national governments and the European Union take action to prepare the future of Europe; . The role of social rights issues in building a stronger European Union in the future. Almost all of the questions in this survey are new questions. However, where possible, the results of this survey are compared with those of a previous survey on Future of Europe – Social Issues conducted in September-October 20173. This survey was carried out by the Kantar network in the 27 Member States of the European Union between 20 November and 21 December 2020. 27,213 EU citizens from different social and demographic categories were interviewed face-to-face, by telephone or online in their native language on behalf of the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. 1 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/fs_20_49 2 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/deeper-and-fairer-economic-and-monetary-union/european-pillar-social-rights/european- pillar-social-rights-20-principles_en 3 https://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/index.cfm/Survey/getSurveyDetail/instruments/SPECIAL/surveyKy/2179 2 Social Issues Special Eurobarometer 509 November - December 2020 Report The methodology used is that of Eurobarometer surveys as carried out for the Directorate-General for Communication (“Media monitoring and analysis” Unit). A technical note on the way the interviews were conducted by the institutes within the Kantar network is appended as an annex to this report. Also included are the interview methods and the confidence intervals. Note: In this report, countries are referred to by their official abbreviation. The abbreviations used in this report correspond to: Belgium BE Lithuania LT Bulgaria BG Luxembourg LU Czechia CZ Hungary HU Denmark DK Malta MT Germany DE The Netherlands NL Estonia EE Austria AT Ireland IE Poland PL Greece EL Portugal PT Spain ES Romania RO France FR Slovenia SI Croatia HR Slovakia SK Italy IT Finland FI Republic of Cyprus CY * Sweden SE Latvia LV European Union – weighted average for the 27 Member States EU27 BE, FR, IT, LU, DE, AT, ES, PT, IE, NL, FI, EL, EE, SI, CY, MT, SK, LV, LT Euro area BG, CZ, DK, HR, HU, PL, RO, SE Non-euro area * Cyprus as a whole is one of the 27 European Union Member States. However, the “acquis communautaire” has been suspended in the part of the country which is not controlled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus. For practical reasons, only the interviews carried out in the part of the country controlled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus are included in the “CY” category and in the EU27 average. We wish to thank the people throughout the European Union who have given their time to take part in this survey. Without their active participation, this study would not have been possible. 3 Social Issues Special Eurobarometer 509 November - December 2020 Report KEY FINDINGS Close to nine in ten Europeans say that a social Europe is important to them personally, particularly equal opportunities and access to the labour market, just ahead of fair working conditions . Nearly nine in ten Europeans (88%) say that a social Europe is important to them personally; . Over two-thirds of respondents share this opinion in every Member State of the European Union; . More than four in ten Europeans consider that four elements are among the most important for the EU’s economic and social development: equal opportunities and access to the labour market (46%), fair working conditions (45%), access to quality health care and the standard of living of people in the EU (41% for both elements); . Just over seven in ten respondents (71%) believe that a lack of social rights is a serious problem right now; . Large majorities of Europeans believe that there should be more decision-making at European level for eight areas tested: around three-quarters hold this view as regards protecting the environment and reducing climate change (76%), and promoting decent working conditions in the EU and abroad (74%); . In all 27 EU Member States, more than half of respondents think that promoting decent working conditions in the EU and abroad, protecting the environment and reducing climate change, and promoting equal treatment of women and men need more decision-making at European level. Nearly three in ten respondents had heard of the European Pillar of Social Rights before the interview . Close to three in ten respondents (29%) say that they had heard, read or seen something about the European Pillar of Social Rights before the interview; . Greece is the only EU Member State where a majority of respondents (53%) had been aware of the European Pillar of Social Rights before the interview; . Nearly eight in ten Europeans who had heard about the European Pillar of Social Rights (79%) agree that this initiative will strengthen employment and social inclusion in the EU as a whole; . More than six in ten respondents hold this view in the 27 EU Member States; . More than three-quarters of respondents who were aware of the European Pillar of Social Rights before the interview (76%) agree that the success of the European Pillar of Social Rights will depend on the implementation of these rights in their country; . In all 27 EU Member States, more than six in ten respondents agree with this statement. 4 Social Issues Special Eurobarometer 509 November - December 2020 Report More than six in ten Europeans think there will be a more social Europe in 2030; and health care is by far the most important area for this future, where both their national government and the EU should take action . Just over half of Europeans (51%) think that social rights issues will play a more important role in building a stronger EU in the future; .
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