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“A disgrace for humanity” – Pope Francis
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In my commentary in The Sunday Times (9 May) I proposed Leonard Cohen’s ‘Everybody Knows’ as an alternative national anthem as it represents the state of the nation more than the study that President Vella has commissioned, and, better still, unlike his study it costs us nothing.
The data from the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) shows that as far as Malta is concerned, Cohen is right to say that the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer.
The table is a clear explanation and points to several important aspects. Between 2010 and 2017 only the richest 5% got better. In fact 95% of the population has lost 3% of its share in the national wealth while the richest 5% increased their share in wealth by 7%. The worst hit were the poorest group of the population. Not a small cohort: half of the Maltese were 6% poorer in 2017 than they were in 2
News Eurofound: Bulgarians are first in EU chart of citizens refusing vaccination published on 5/13/21 6:20 PM
Photo: Pixabay Bulgaria is among the EU countries with the lowest confidence in its national government when it comes to coping with the pandemic. With 2.7 points (out of 10 possible) Bulgaria ranks among Poland (2.1), Croatia (2.5) and the Czech Republic (2.9). This is seen in a study by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), called Life, Work and Covid-19 , quoted by BGNES.
Bulgaria is the country in the EU where people are most reluctant to get vaccinated, the study also shows. 61% of polled Bulgarians say that they would probably not get vaccinated. 33% of Bulgarians show firm support for vaccination.
Over a quarter of EU adults are unlikely to take a vaccine, survey says
Medicago and GSK have reported a strong immune response in their latest trial.
More than a quarter of adults in the European Union are unlikely to take the Covid-19 vaccine when offered the jab, a survey has shown today.
The results suggested a meaningful link between vaccine hesitancy and the use of social media, particularly where social media is the main source of information, according to Eurofound, also known as the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
“Unfortunately, these findings reflect a failure to deliver persuasive and clear communication regarding the efficacy and safety of vaccines,” Eurofound senior research manager, Daphne Ahrendt, said.
Europees Parlement (EP)
Het Europees Parlement (EP) vertegenwoordigt ruim 450 miljoen Europeanen en bestaat momenteel uit 705 afgevaardigden (inclusief voorzitter). Nederland heeft 29 zetels in het Europees Parlement. Het Europees Parlement wordt geacht een stem te geven aan de volkeren van de 27 landen die aan de Unie deelnemen, en vooral te letten op het belang van de Unie in zijn geheel.
De leden van het Europees Parlement worden om de vijf jaar rechtstreeks gekozen door de burgers van de Europese Unie. De volgende verkiezingen zijn in 2024. Het Parlement debatteert op basis van voorstellen van de Europese Commissie en kan daarbij wijzigingen voorstellen, waarna het Parlement samen met de Raad van de Europese Unie een beslissing over deze voorstellen neemt.
Malta: the rich got richer in decade of unprecedented growth
Wealth share of richest 5% increased from 33% to 40% between 2010 and 2017
14 April 2021, 7:11am
by James Debono
The share of total national wealth owned by the richest 5% of the Maltese population increased from 33% to 40% between 2010 and 2017, data from the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) this week showed.
The share of total national wealth dropped for the bottom 50% from 14% to 10% in a sign of growing inequality.
And the proportion of individuals just below Malta’s average net wealth also increased, from around 72% in 2014 to nearly 77% in 2017.
The Europe-wide study shows Malta was one of five countries with “a clear trend of increasing wealth inequality” over the last seven years, a period characterised by accelerated economic growth and a property boom that was spearheaded by the Muscat administration after it was elected in 2013.