European Union Social Cohesion Policy and Monitoring Indicators

Abstract

The questions of the nation uniting, national or social consolidation, cohesion of society have always been on the agenda of the independent Ukrainian state. An urgent need is to identify the obstacles to consolidating Ukrainian society, as well as factors that can contribute to the unification of society.  The objective of the article is to summarize the results of scientific and expert discourse on social cohesion of the EU and indicators of its assessment. Methodology is analysis of the European Commission documents, studies and reports. The research of European Cohesion Policy requires the use of an interdisciplinary approach, as well as the consideration of the process in its integrity, requires the use of a systematic approach.

Social cohesion has been studied in the European Union over the past decades. During this time, many studies of theoretical and empirical question have been made. Moreover, it has already become the main concept of effective development for many societies. The mechanism of practical realization of social cohesion is the recognition of the values of pluralism, social and civil dialogue. The obligatory attribute of social cohesion of a society is the institute of social protection and social integration. Social cohesion involves the use of democratic principles for making socially significant decisions. The essence of the social cohesion of the EU is considered from the standpoint, based on social rights and the access of all citizens to their rights, and hence the real opportunity to use and protect them. At the focus of social cohesion of society is the welfare of the vast majority of citizens, harmonious and stable social relations. The condition to social cohesion is the high citizen’s credibility of governance and civil society institutions. In the framework of developing a system of social indicators an effort was made to operationalise conceptualization of social cohesion across several life domains. There are rather broad range of indicators of social cohesion can be specified. Accordingly, the lists of exemplarily suggested indicators are rather extensive.

The subject of further analysis may be a more detailed researches of the experience of the European society cohesion mechanism for adopting and implementation it in Ukraine.