Unemployment is the No. 1 topic in Europe GfK survey on the concerns of citizens in ten European countries

Nuremberg 7. 8. 2003 (PROTEXT/ots) - For the Germans, butalso for most of their European counterparts, there is currentlya particularly burning issue: unemployment. This is the keyfinding of this years Challenges of Europe survey conducted byGfK-Nürnberg e.V.

In Germany, unemployment has been a hot topic for the pastdecade. However, the proportion of people who said unemploymentwas a problem had decreased steadily from 86 per cent in 1999 to59 per cent in 2001. In 2002, this figure rose once more to 74per cent and in 2003, has again increased slightly to 75 percent. Whether and to what extent Germans perceive unemployment asa problem is in direct correlation to the development of theofficial unemployment figures, which had decreased as well from1999 onwards and started to rise again from 2002. Europeanconcerns

Looking at the major challenges facing Europeans in acountry-by-country comparison, some differences emerge. Apartfrom Germany and Poland, it is only in Spain that the majority ofthe population worries about the difficult labour marketsituation. In France, this is a concern for just under half ofthe population, compared to around 40 per cent in Italy and onlya third in Austria. In the UK and the Netherlands, both of whichhave a relatively low unemployment rate, hardly any respondentsexpressed anxiety about the current labour market situation.

The topic of crime unsettles the British, Dutch, French andItalians in particular. Around 20 to 25 per cent of people inthese countries regard fighting crime as a top priority. In thecourse of this it is noticeable, that the French saw thisproblem decisive more important than in 2003. Last year, close totwo thirds of French people were concerned about this topic,presumably as a result of it being highlighted in the run-up tothe elections. In 2003, the proportion is just under 25 per cent.Germans and Polish people do not seem particularly worried aboutthe question fighting crime, with only ten per cent of peopleciting crime as a concern. In Austria, criminality does notrepresent a source of conflict.

There were also discrepancies in Europeans concerns overpublic health. Criticism of medical care was most pronounced inthe Netherlands, with 27 per cent, closely followed by the UKwith 25 per cent and Italy with 18 per cent. Austrians, theSpanish and the French, by contrast, seem to be generallysatisfied with their respective healthcare systems.

Austrians are way out in front when it comes to pensionconcerns. The pension reform passed in mid- June 2003 wascontroversial and led to massive protests in the form of strikesand demonstrations against the planned reductions incontributions and raising the retirement age. Reforms are alsoscheduled for pensions in France, which has resulted in thistopic being a source of anxiety for 36 per cent of thepopulation.

Education is a key success factor in internationalcompetition. Education policy is therefore among the top tenchallenges confronting Europeans, although this takes varyingdegrees of priority in the individual countries. With a share ofalmost 25 per cent, criticism of the education policy isparticularly evident in the UK.

contact: ulrike.schoeneberg@gfk.de Phone: +49-(0)911-395-2645

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