Social Monitor: Romania ranks last in EU in terms of social protection spending

Romania allocated only 12.8% of GDP for social protection in 2023, among European Union (EU) countries a lower percentage being recorded in Ireland (8.1% of GDP), Malta (9.7%) and Hungary (12.3%), shows an infographic by Monitorul Social, published on Tuesday.The Friedrich Ebert Foundation Romania project reveals that, at the opposite pole, the member states that allocate the highest percentage of GDP to social protection are: Finland (25.7%), France (23.4%), Austria (21.4%), Luxembourg (20.2%) and Belgium (20.1%).According to a press release from the organization, sent on Tuesday, when it comes to total social protection spending, Romania allocates approximately 1,766 euros/capita, as shown by the latest Eurostat data, in 2022. Following our country is Bulgaria (1,631 euros), both countries being at considerable distances from the EU average (8,212 euros) and from the Nordic and Western countries, as follows: Denmark (15,368 euros), Sweden (12,253 euros), Finland (11,414 euros), Germany (11,341 euros), France (11,462 euros), the Netherlands (11,708 euros) and Austria (11,283 euros).Public expenditure on social protection reflects the main function of the government in redistributing income and compulsory payments to the vulnerable population. It includes nine types of expenditure, including: pensions, sickness and disability benefits, unemployment benefits, child benefits, family benefits, social housing, social assistance, etc.In the European Union, social protection spending remained relatively high in 2023 due to government measures aimed at mitigating the impact of rising energy prices. "For Romania, the ratio of social protection to GDP is expected to continue to decline in 2025, as a result of the cessation of energy compensation payments to the population, but also as a result of measures to reduce the budget deficit," the analysis states.Of the total public spending on social protection, two categories stand out in which Romania does not fare well: unemployment benefit and social housing.Romania allocates only 0.2% of total social protection expenditures to unemployment benefits, which ranks us last in the EU, alongside Poland (0.82%) and Malta (0.87%). The highest budgetary allocations for unemployment benefits are recorded in Spain (6.22%), France (5.64%), Lithuania (5.24%) and Finland (5%).Social benefits for housing insurance place our country in the penultimate place in the European Union, with a budgetary allocation of only 0.04% of total social protection expenditures, next to Bulgaria (0%) and Croatia (0.01%). In percentage terms, close to Romania are Poland (0.12%), Slovenia (0.15%) and Slovakia (0.18%).