A new Eurobarometer survey on the EU's social climate shows that although EU citizens remain negative when evaluating the general situation of their country, they seem to feel that the economy is recovering and are largely satisfied and positive regarding their personal situation. The trend towards an improved perception in terms of social protection and inclusion in the near future is clear.

The results of the social survey published by the European Commission shows that Europeans' perception about the general situation in their countries is, overall, much more pessimistic than that of their personal situation. However, optimism that things will improve in the next twelve months has progressed since the previous survey, with positive evolutions in many scores. Although the survey shows that people feel daily life is more costly than in 2010, the overall optimistic evaluation of life in general is higher than last year wave of analysis.

In addition, Europeans were most dissatisfied with the way inequalities and poverty are dealt with in their country and only respondents in Luxembourg awarded a positive score, while respondents in Latvia, Romania, Greece and Lithuania were the most strongly dissatisfied. The survey also reveals major differences between countries, reflecting variations between national policies and institutions, with citizens from Nordic countries and Benelux being most content with their personal situation.

The majority of Member States report positive scores for current health care systems, although differences between countries are substantial. Belgium marks the highest score, followed by Austria, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The least satisfied are citizens in Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Latvia and Poland. Concerning public administrations, Europeans are, on average, rather dissatisfied. Luxembourg records the highest score, followed by Austria, Sweden, Estonia and Germany. The lowest-scoring nations are Greece, Romania, Latvia, Ireland and Portugal.