Wealth, welfare and well-being: how to reconcile them in a changing Europe?
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 27 April 2010
(13th Sitting) (see Doc.
12199, report of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development,
rapporteur: Mr Vrettos). Text adopted
by the Assembly on 27 April 2010 (13th Sitting).
- Thesaurus
1. The pursuit of a prosperous and
dignified life for all is the overarching aim of European society.
Ever since the destructive and disruptive world wars, Europe has
sought to embrace a development path that would consolidate its
commitment to the shared spiritual and moral values that underlie
the principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Yet
the past decade has exposed many shortcomings in the prevalent development
model based on excessive reliance on the wealthy post-war generation
and the lack of a holistic approach. Economic growth, social well-being
and protection of the environment must be rebalanced in a way that
puts the quality of life at the centre of development policies.
2. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures a country’s level
of production, has become the benchmark of the progress of our civilisation,
and the well-being of our citizens. However, the current economic crisis
is forcing society to re-examine how it relates to wealth and to
take social well-being and environmental imperatives into account
when considering economic growth. The Assembly believes that it
is no longer sufficient to use GDP as the sole instrument for measuring
the economic and social condition of society because it is only
an accounting tool. Automatically equating GDP growth with a population’s
well-being has become obsolete.
3. The Parliamentary Assembly considers that the time has come
to develop appropriate political, economic, social and environmental
responses in a rapidly changing world and in a Europe where economic disparities
subsist, notably between East and West. It therefore emphasises
the need to use parameters that take into account other − non-monetary
or non-financial − factors that contribute to countries’ wealth
and the well-being of their people. Political and economic decision
makers must now equip themselves with new transversal tools that
help societies meet the challenges of the 21st century, such as
those stemming from the reorganisation of the global economy, climate
change and demographic issues.
4. The Assembly welcomes the various initiatives of the Council
of Europe (for example, the seminar Involving Citizens/Communities
in Measuring and Fostering Well-Being and Progress: Towards New
Concepts and Tools, Strasbourg,
27-28 November 2008); the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD), which has launched a global project Measuring
the Progress of Societies; the European Commission, the European
Parliament, the Club of Rome, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
and the OECD, with their joint international conference Beyond GDP
– Measuring Progress, True Wealth and the Well-being of Nations (Brussels,
19-20 November 2007) and its follow-up; and the international Commission
on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress,
which delivered its recommendations on 14 September 2009.
5. The Assembly calls on national parliaments to draw upon the
work accomplished by the various international organisations and
experts in drafting future legislation and to hold country-specific
debates on the implications of the above initiatives in a national
context.
6. In order to secure a clearer picture of the well-being of
Europeans, the Assembly urges the Council of Europe member states
to take better account of the following principles:
6.1 environmental issues are of
fundamental importance for the well-being of European societies and,
above all, the survival of future generations. Global warming, the
depletion of natural resources, environmental degradation and the
disappearance of animal and plant species all have a major impact on
the immediate environment and living conditions of 800 million Council
of Europe citizens. Precise measures are needed of the physical
condition of this natural capital, as well as the threats to it
and their impact on human capital;
6.2 the health of European citizens, the management of public
health systems and enhanced access to quality health services are
essential. Demographic challenges are forcing our societies to make
new health policy choices. While the increase in life expectancy
has implications in terms of structural policies needed to adapt
to the changing situation, it is also a source of economic growth;
6.3 growing inequalities and the deterioration in social well-being
are often the first consequences of economic crises. Today more
than ever in the past we should protect and assist the most vulnerable members
of the community and those who are most likely to suffer discrimination,
for example as regards the wage gap between women and men or discrimination
against persons from minority groups in employment and housing.
One of the main priorities must be to develop indicators that provide
us with as precise a picture as possible of the state of social
cohesion in Europe;
6.4 strengthening democracy, the rule of law and respect for
human rights remain absolute priorities for the Council of Europe.
Living in peace, the enjoyment of public and civil freedoms, a fair
judicial system and anti-corruption efforts, as well as the respect
for ethnic, linguistic and religious differences all increase political
well-being, which is rapidly transformed into economic benefits;
6.5 a high standard of education is essential for the development
of skills and thus for Europe’s competitiveness in the context of
globalisation;
6.6 a continued deterioration of labour markets translates
not only into human distress due to unemployment or precarious employment,
but also swelling public budget deficits and, inevitably, worsening
public well-being.
7. The Assembly therefore calls on Council of Europe member states
to ensure adequate budgetary support for their development policies
with a view to pursuing more balanced and healthier economic growth.
8. The Assembly further considers that the search for new indicators
of societal well-being must not eclipse the general debate on ways
to improve GDP measurement so that it covers economic data not currently measured,
such as the various activities within the household economy.
9. Well aware that measuring well-being can only be effective
if there is general agreement on the subject and, above all, if
the relevant initiatives have wide support, the Assembly wishes
to see a continuing international debate on the question of well-being
at major high-level gatherings and existing international forums,
such as the G20 where a working group on growth indicators could
be established. This debate needs to address key problems arising
from our lifestyle, the shortcomings of which have been highlighted
by the economic crisis. This working group should seek to propose
new economic solutions for our societies that do not come down to
a limited choice between all-pervading government control and the
sole rule of free-market economics.
10. The Assembly also urges member states, and particularly local
and regional authorities, to do much more to raise public awareness
of what constitutes greater well-being. It therefore encourages
all local authorities that so wish to collaborate with the Congress
of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, which
has considerable expertise in this area.
11. The Assembly also considers that civil society should be fully
involved in the various activities concerned with identifying indicators.
As those primarily concerned, citizens must be consulted through
genuine participatory democracy before any indicators are applied.
The new indicators can be established only within the framework
of social consensus.
12. Finally, the Assembly considers that the various bodies of
the Council of Europe should continue working on this fundamental
issue of well-being.
