The social situation in the European Union 2004

The Social Situation Report, published annually since 2000, provides an overview of the social dimension in the European Union as a background to social policy development and contributes to the monitoring of developments in the social field across Member States. Furthermore, it establishes links to other Commission publications such as Employment in Europe, Industrial Relations in Europe and the Gender Equality Report. One feature of the 2004 report is that it combines harmonised quantitative information with qualitative survey data on public opinion. In this way it acts as a reference
document, with the perceptions and attitudes of people living in Europe added to the overall portrait of the social situation.

This year the report seeks to portray the social dimension of the enlarged Union, looking at both developing social trends and emerging policy challenges.

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