Together with three experts, Members of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs discussed the reasons and effects of economic inequality in the EU and possible remedies in a public debate.

The debate and the presentations by the experts, who had been invited by the Committees (Mark Pearson, OECD; Kate Pickett, University of York; Marc De Vos, University of Ghent) focussed on income inequality, as here, compared with wealth inequality, more data is available. Whilst Central and North European countries show the lowest level of inequality, it nevertheless increased in all countries of the EU during the past decades. The top 10 % own 55 % of the entire income; the ratio to the lower income levels has deteriorated from a 7:1 ratio in the 1980ies to 10:1. Most affected are pensioners, families with many children, single parents and young people. The experts see a reason for this increase in the changed employment structure – worse working conditions, part time etc. Apart from that, some tax and social systems were no longer effective enough when it came to redistribution. The increasing economic inequality not only has a negative impact on health, life expectancy, social mobility and the social stability of a society, but is also responsible for a more volatile economy. An increase of the Gini coefficient, which measures inequality, leads to a reduction of economic growth of 0.12 %. In order to stem this development, the experts demand greater investments in the education system, more women in work, improved transfer payments, a more progressive tax system and clamping down on tax havens.