This report provides a comprehensive examination of trends in income inequality within and between the EU Member States from 2006 to 2021. The study also aims to answer the related question of whether the middle class is becoming smaller because of developments in respect of disparities in household disposable income. A robust analysis is conducted using a wide range of interrelated indicators, including income inequality; income levels across Member States and along the income distribution; the size of the middle class; the share of national income received by different income groups; and poverty rates and other indicators of economic hardship experienced by European households. The role of public policies in explaining some of these trends is also examined. The results indicate that although income inequality has been relatively stable on average across the Member States, trends are much more mixed at Member State level, while the size of the middle class has shrunk in most of them.

This paper reviews trends in income inequality in the EU over the last fifteen years and presents a comprehensive framework to assess and monitor income inequalities and related key policy areas. It relies on a three-stages approach, namely considering pre-market, in-market and post-market stages in income inequality in order to present an integrated policy approach. For each of these different stages, specific (proxy) indicators help identifying relevant policy approaches. Four out of five EU citizens perceive inequality is too high in their country, a proportion that has remained fairly stable since 2017. On average in the EU, income inequality levels are broadly back to those from before the double-dip recession of 2009 and 2012. There have been, however, significant fluctuations over the period, as well as some convergence in trends across Member States and different evolutions at the bottom and at the top of the income distribution. Distributional Impact Assessment (DIA) is presented as a cross-cutting policy tool that can help steering policy change safeguarding fairness, streamlining inequality and poverty reduction considerations in policy making, including in the context of the digital and green transition.

This study is made of two parts: part A and part B. Part A of the study analyses – through 27 country fiches – the extent to which each EU Member State is prepared for ensuring a socially fair digital transformation in the coming years, based on both its current situation and future prospects. In this analysis, key areas of focus include the labour market, digital skills of the population, social protection as well as cross-cutting dimensions, such as the digitalization level of businesses and the quality of digital infrastructures. Part B of the study reviews – through 30 case studies – some of the main actual and potential uses of digital technologies (including AI) by a country’s public sector for improving the design and the delivery of social benefits and active labour market policies, as well as for complementing the monitoring of poverty and income inequality (the case studies analysed are mainly in Member States but also in a few third countries).

Final report. Part B, Use of digital technologies (including AI) by the public sector for improving the delivery and design of social policies and active labour market policies, as well as for complementing the monitoring of poverty and income inequality
This study is made of two parts: part A and part B. Part A of the study analyses – through 27 country fiches – the extent to which each EU Member State is prepared for ensuring a socially fair digital transformation in the coming years, based on both its current situation and future prospects. In this analysis, key areas of focus include the labour market, digital skills of the population, social protection as well as cross-cutting dimensions, such as the digitalization level of businesses and the quality of digital infrastructures. Part B of the study reviews – through 30 case studies – some of the main actual and potential uses of digital technologies (including AI) by a country’s public sector for improving the design and the delivery of social benefits and active labour market policies, as well as for complementing the monitoring of poverty and income inequality (the case studies analysed are mainly in Member States but also in a few third countries).

We use 25 years of tax records for the Norwegian population to study the mobility of wealth over people’s lifetimes.We find considerable wealth mobility over the life cycle. To understand the underlying mobility patterns, we group individuals with similar wealth rank histories using agglomerative hierarchical clustering, a tool from statistical learning. The mobility patterns we elicit provide evidence of segmented mobility. Over 60 percent of the population remains at the top or bottom of the wealth distribution throughout their lives. Mobility is driven by the remaining 40 percent, who move only within the middle of the distribution. Movements are tied to differential income trajectories and business activities across groups.We show parental wealth is the key predictor of who is persistently rich or poor, while human capital is the main predictor of those who rise and fall through the middle of the distribution.

This study provides a comprehensive exploration of measures aimed at facilitating access to and expanding support for human rights defenders (HRDs) in the European Union (EU). Its introduction deals with the fundamental issue of defining HRDs which, in turn, will enable visa, borders and migration officers to apply the various recommendations here proposed. The subsequent section delves into the EU’s Visa Code and Handbook, proposing substantial changes to accommodate the needs of HRDs seeking entry and short stays in the EU. For longer stays, the study examines available options within the existing legal migration acquis and possibilities offered by the Temporary Protection Directive. It also proposes a self-standing proposal for a Directive that aims to deal with HRDs’ extended stays in the EU. Socio-economic assistance for HRDs is then discussed by proposing specific possibilities for additional measures, resources and policies at the EU level. The impact of digitalisation and EU databases on HRDs is also examined. Lastly, it presents recommendations categorised as soft-law and hard-law, providing a robust framework to safeguard HRDs and facilitate their access to the EU.

The EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF for Africa) was set up to support the most vulnerable and marginalised people, including refugees, internally displaced people, migrants and members of host communities. Over the last 8 years, it has provided great momentum for a coordinated response by the European Union, its Member States and other donors to multiple challenges across the Sahel and Lake Chad, Horn of Africa and North of Africa regions. In 2023, the three regions of the EUTF for Africa were marked by political crisis - with regime changes in the Sahel region – and armed conflict, like in the case of Sudan where in April violence broke out between Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The effects of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, economic hardship aggravated by high inflation, and the increasingly devastating impact of climate change were all factors that contributed to deteriorating the livelihoods of the most vulnerable populations in Africa. In this context, and despite the winding down of many projects, the EUTF for Africa continued to demonstrate its capacity to support the most vulnerable and marginalised people across its four Strategic objectives: greater economic and employment opportunities; strengthening resilience of communities; improved migration management; and improved governance and conflict prevention. Thanks to the close cooperation with EU Member States and African partner countries, the EUTF for Africa continued to foster dialogue and coordination on migration and forced displacement with the aim to address their root causes and promote stability.

Recent evolutions in refugee policy, diverging markedly from previous governmental strategies in the country, make Kenya a compelling case. Its refugee policy has transformed over time in response to evolving security threats, regional geo-political dynamics, and strategic interests. Hence, over the years the country has moved from a policy of integration to an encampment policy and now back to a policy enhancing the inclusion of refugees into national systems, granting broader access to services under the framework agreed in the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF). This policy brief provides an overview of the refugee policy shift in the country, shares examples of programmes developed as a result of policy transformation, and provides recommendations based on lessons learned from this process..

This policy brief offers insights from a portfolio analysis of Horizon 2020's SC6 and Horizon Europe's Cluster 2 projects, showcasing their pivotal role in advancing EU migration research and policy integration. It outlines the recent Pact on Asylum and Migration's significance and urges for research focus on critical areas such as the climate-migration nexus and technological innovations in migration management. This analysis underscores the need to ensure migration policies are informed, inclusive, and prepared for future trends and challenges.

This comparative analysis, drafted by Isabelle Chopin and Catharina Germaine (Migration Policy Group), compares and analyses the information set out in the country reports relating to 2022 for the 27 EU Member States in a format mirroring that of the country reports themselves and draws some conclusions from the information contained in them. The report further presents the general trends in European anti-discrimination policy and points out some of the remaining dilemmas in the application of antidiscrimination legislation. It gives an overview of the main substantive issues in both directives: the grounds of discrimination, the definition of grounds and scope, exceptions to the principle of equal treatment and positive action, access to justice and effective enforcement, and equality bodies.

Reports that examine how individual EU member states have transposed and implemented two key EU anti-discrimination directives: * Council Directive 2000/43/EC (Racial Equality Directive) * Council Directive 2000/78/EC (Employment Equality Directive)

This report examines jurisprudence interpreting the obligations relating to the prohibition of disability discrimination and the duty of reasonable accommodation that is developing within the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), in the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee), and in national courts and quasi-judicial bodies. Since the adoption of the Employment Equality Directive (Directive 2000/78)1 by the EU and the ratification/ conclusion of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by the EU and the Member States, a substantial body of case law has developed within the CJEU and the courts and quasi-judicial bodies of many Member States. In addition, the CRPD Committee has issued individual communications in response to claims of employment discrimination made by, or on behalf of, a person or group claiming to be victims of a violation of the Convention in some EU Member States.

This issue opens with four in-depth articles. The first article, by Dolores Morondo Taramundi from the University of Deusto, explores the introduction of rights regarding menstrual health in Spain. The second article, by Panos Kapotas from the University of Portsmouth, provides an overview of the state of play on the use of comparators and comparisons in EU gender equality law, as reflected in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The third article, by Sébastien Van Drooghenbroeck of UC Louvain-Saint-Louis-Bruxelles, explores the level of protection against discrimination on the ground of non-religious beliefs in EU law. The final article, by Roma activist and scholar Iulius Rostas, examines the protection provided in Bulgaria, Greece and Romania against Roma segregation in education, through an assessment of national legislation, case law and policies. As in previous issues of this publication, the following section provides an overview of the relevant case law of the CJEU and of the European Court of Human Rights. The final section on national developments contains brief summaries of the most important developments in legislation, case law and policy at the national level in the 36 countries covered by the network.

The experience and perceptions of the Jewish community and wider European population, recorded antisemitic incidents, the increasing level of antisemitic content online and sociological research show the persisting presence of antisemitism in the European Union. A 2021 survey on the prevalence and intensity of anti-Jewish prejudices in 16 European countries found that on average, 20 % of the population in the countries under scrutiny can be regarded as (strongly or moderately) antisemitic, whereas the proportion of latent antisemites was 14 %, with six countries where the aggregate proportion of strongly, moderately and latently antisemitic people was above 50 %. Research has also shown – and it has also been reported from a number of Member States in the context of the current report – that the consecutive crises of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian aggression on Ukraine have intensified antisemitic sentiments across Europe.

Statistics on equality and non-discrimination in the EU presents a selection of key equality and non-discrimination statistics for the European Union (EU), EU Member States and EFTA countries. This publication may be viewed as an introduction to European statistics on these subjects and provides a starting point for those who wish to explore the wide range of data that are freely available on Eurostat’s website.

This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the re-quest of the PETI Committee, discusses the impact of the ongoing cost-of-living and energy crises on the standard of living for per-sons with disabilities. Based on available evidence, it provides an overview on legislation, policy measures and schemes that support persons with disabilities and their families to cope with the rising cost of living at EU level and in selected Member States.