ECONOMIC SECURITY AND PHYSICAL SAFETY IN EU COUNTRIES

Abstract

Evaluating of the population quality of life in each country, including EU countries, it is especially important to take into account economic security and physical safety. These are particularly sensitive categories in the context of a crisis of a different nature, including the Covid-19 pandemic health crisis. Considering that, the paper is aimed at perceiving the conditions and changes in the economic security and physical safety of the EU countries’ population, particularly in the period after the emergence of the global financial and economic crisis, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, namely from 2010 to 2021. The results indicate that the global financial and economic crisis has a direct impact on the economic security of individuals in the EU. Thus, seen from 2010 to 2014, there is a gradual increase in the share of the population that cannot cope with unexpected expenses and/or has regular monthly payments in arrears. These participations are decreasing over the coming years, including the years after the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic did not leave drastic consequences in a large part of the EU countries in the analyzed segments, i.e. they successfully coped with the unexpected financial implications of the pandemic crisis and the payment of regular expenses, as well as in maintaining physical safety.