Progress report reveals mixed pace of social benefits reform

Date: 22/01/1998

EFFORTS by EU countries to reform overburdened social security systems have had mixed results, a European Commission report due out next month is expected to reveal.

The report on Social protection in Europe 1997 is likely to show that while some member states have begun to introduce painful changes to their unemployment and health-care systems, others are still reluctant to make reforms.

The study will concentrate on four main issues: systems of unemployment compensation, early retirement, long-term care for the elderly and the issue of 'cost-versus-service' in health-care systems.

Officials at the Commission's Directorate-General for social affairs (DGV) stress that the report will present an overview of developments over the past year and will not try to tell national governments what changes they should make. "This is a technical report. We are not trying to give member states political guidelines," said an official.

Nevertheless the data will highlight disparities in the pace of reform within the EU.

Some member states have pressed ahead with initiatives designed to encourage people off benefits and back into the jobs market, such as the UK's 'Welfare to Work' programme. Major reforms of the pensions systems in Austria and Germany have also been introduced to reduce the cost of early retirement schemes.

But changes have been slower in other countries. The political situation in Italy has, for example, made it difficult to tackle pensions reform.

The Commission indicated clearly where it felt reforms were needed in a report published last spring. This argued that while European governments had much to be proud of in the way they cared for their less- advantaged and vulnerable citizens, social security systems urgently needed to be adapted to deal with the realities of the modern jobs market.

Preview and report of 'Social protection in Europe 1997'.