EU economic crisis causing massive rise in poverty – Red Cross
11102013
Europe is facing a catastrophic economic and social decline, according to a new Red Cross report. The charity concludes that austerity measures taken during Europe’s economic downturn have further contributed to snowballing poverty and unemployment.
68 page Red Cross report, published Thursday, adds: “We now see a quiet desperation spreading among Europeans, resulting in depression, resignation and loss of hope for their future.”
Five major trends characterizing the impact of the economic crisis across Europe are identified in the document: the poor getting poorer; the ‘new poor’ spiraling into poverty; weakening health; a toughening stance on increasing migration; and a steep rise in unemployment.
The study ominously warns that “the long term consequences of this crisis have yet to surface,”despite already very serious, visible symptoms of economic downturn being detailed throughout its pages.
Red Cross’s research includes data and conclusions collected from a wide range of European countries, from Belgium, Georgia, Greece and Italy to Sweden, charting statistics from the 28 countries of the EU plus 14 in the Balkans, Eastern Europe and central Asia. Italian Red Cross notes in its report. “Public services simply cannot respond to the ever-growing needs,” the report cites Marco Tozzi, a Red Cross volunteer, as saying. “Poverty is on the increase in France, Romania, Spain, Sweden and many other countries as reported by National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies through the IFRC’s mapping exercise.”
Among more general trends, such as increases in poverty, unemployment and reductions in social services, some secondary social consequences are also identified. Grown-up children have been found to be moving back in with their parents in Greece and Spain, and generations are living under a single roof with just one income-earner to pay for the household’s upkeep.
There is simultaneously a broadening inequality gap. “Not only are more people falling into poverty, but the poor are getting poorer, and the sense is that the gaps between the wealthy and the poor are growing,” the report states, adding that those suffering the most in Europe were those identified as already badly off.
Romania, “the most affected people are those who are already poor: the retired, the disabled, people living on social welfare,” while the French Red Cross expresses concern that “75 per cent of people [in France] asking for food explain doing so because otherwise they could not afford to pay their rent.” The Romanian Red Cross also noted a fall in the country’s average salary by 24 percent, accompanied by an increase in living costs of about 30 percent from 2008 to 2012.
Spain and Greece, which have both seen waves of intense protests, spiking unemployment figures and increasing reliance on charity, worrying statistics illustrating the situation in countries such as Germany are also identified.
The German middle class is contracting at a rapid speed, the report notes, citing figures from a Bertelsmann Foundation study; in 1997, some 65 percent of Germans were identified as middle class, while this number drops to 58 percent in 2012, meaning that some 5.5 million Germans have lost their “class status,” according to the study. However, half a million stepped “up” a class, being identified as high-income earners.
Mass unemployment and deepening poverty across Europe have increased the needs of people seeking help from the Red Cross across the continent, as they have increasingly come to rely on charity. “The amount of people depending on Red Cross food distributions in 22 of the surveyed countries has increased by 75 percent between 2009 and 2012,” the report says.
Media agencies
Europe is facing a catastrophic economic and social decline, according to a new Red Cross report. The charity concludes that austerity measures taken during Europe’s economic downturn have further contributed to snowballing poverty and unemployment.
68 page Red Cross report, published Thursday, adds: “We now see a quiet desperation spreading among Europeans, resulting in depression, resignation and loss of hope for their future.”
Five major trends characterizing the impact of the economic crisis across Europe are identified in the document: the poor getting poorer; the ‘new poor’ spiraling into poverty; weakening health; a toughening stance on increasing migration; and a steep rise in unemployment.
The study ominously warns that “the long term consequences of this crisis have yet to surface,”despite already very serious, visible symptoms of economic downturn being detailed throughout its pages.
Red Cross’s research includes data and conclusions collected from a wide range of European countries, from Belgium, Georgia, Greece and Italy to Sweden, charting statistics from the 28 countries of the EU plus 14 in the Balkans, Eastern Europe and central Asia. Italian Red Cross notes in its report. “Public services simply cannot respond to the ever-growing needs,” the report cites Marco Tozzi, a Red Cross volunteer, as saying. “Poverty is on the increase in France, Romania, Spain, Sweden and many other countries as reported by National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies through the IFRC’s mapping exercise.”
Among more general trends, such as increases in poverty, unemployment and reductions in social services, some secondary social consequences are also identified. Grown-up children have been found to be moving back in with their parents in Greece and Spain, and generations are living under a single roof with just one income-earner to pay for the household’s upkeep.
There is simultaneously a broadening inequality gap. “Not only are more people falling into poverty, but the poor are getting poorer, and the sense is that the gaps between the wealthy and the poor are growing,” the report states, adding that those suffering the most in Europe were those identified as already badly off.
Romania, “the most affected people are those who are already poor: the retired, the disabled, people living on social welfare,” while the French Red Cross expresses concern that “75 per cent of people [in France] asking for food explain doing so because otherwise they could not afford to pay their rent.” The Romanian Red Cross also noted a fall in the country’s average salary by 24 percent, accompanied by an increase in living costs of about 30 percent from 2008 to 2012.
Spain and Greece, which have both seen waves of intense protests, spiking unemployment figures and increasing reliance on charity, worrying statistics illustrating the situation in countries such as Germany are also identified.
The German middle class is contracting at a rapid speed, the report notes, citing figures from a Bertelsmann Foundation study; in 1997, some 65 percent of Germans were identified as middle class, while this number drops to 58 percent in 2012, meaning that some 5.5 million Germans have lost their “class status,” according to the study. However, half a million stepped “up” a class, being identified as high-income earners.
Mass unemployment and deepening poverty across Europe have increased the needs of people seeking help from the Red Cross across the continent, as they have increasingly come to rely on charity. “The amount of people depending on Red Cross food distributions in 22 of the surveyed countries has increased by 75 percent between 2009 and 2012,” the report says.
Media agencies
No comments:
Post a Comment