Greece is least socially just country in EU, report indicates

In its Social Inclusion Monitor Europe (SIM) report, the foundation ranked Greece 28th out of 28 countries based on scores in six categories: : poverty prevention, equitable education, access to the labour market, social cohesion and non-discrimination, health and intergenerational justice.

Based on Sustainable Governance Indicators (SGI) Greece scored 3.57 points, while the EU average came in at 5.6. This meant that Greece suffered a drop of 0.86 on the mark it gained in 2008. Only Ireland had a bigger decline during this period with a fall of 0.87 points.

The bottom third of the social justice rankings, with the exception of Slovakia (17th place), Ireland (18th) and Estonia (22nd), is taken up exclusively by EU member states from southern and southeastern Europe,” write the report’s authors. “These countries show massive shortcomings in most areas of the Social Justice Index, in some cases worsening dramatically in recent years.”

With regards to Greece, the Bertelsman Foundation says: “Greece is at the bottom ranking with a youth unemployment rate of nearly 60 percent, a rapid increase in the risk of poverty, particularly among children and youth, a health care system badly undermined by austerity measures, discrimination against minorities as a result of strengthened radical political forces, and an enormous mountain of debt that represents a mortgage on the future coming generations.

“The resulting diminution of prospects for broad swathes of society represents a significant danger to the country’s political and social stability. These developments illustrate that the cuts induced by the crisis are not being administered in a balanced way throughout the population.”

The report also notes the big rise in the percentage of Greeks who are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, with the country ranking 25th out of the 28 EU member states.

 

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