According to Eurostat data on material deprivation in the “Housing in Europe – 2025 edition” review, around 9% of the European Union population in 2024 could not afford to heat their homes adequately.
The EU’s statistical office notes that the problem of energy poverty and high utility costs remains significant for millions of households, despite the support measures taken after the 2022–2023 energy crisis.
Low-income households and residents of old, energy-inefficient housing in a number of Eastern and Southern European countries remain particularly vulnerable.
The proportion of European Union residents living in their own homes in 2024 was 68%, while 32% of the population rented a house or apartment, according to the interactive review “Housing in Europe – 2025 edition” by the EU statistical office Eurostat.
According to the data, the highest rates of home ownership were recorded in Romania (94% of the population live in their own homes), Slovakia (93%), Hungary (92%), and Croatia (91%). The only EU country where the majority of the population prefers to rent is Germany, where 53% of residents are tenants. In Austria, the share of tenants is 46%, and in Denmark, it is 39%.
Eurostat notes that in all EU countries except Germany, ownership remains the dominant form of housing, although in large cities and capitals, the proportion of rentals is traditionally higher than in small towns and rural areas.
In Ukraine, oil flax remains a niche crop, but its gross harvest in the 2025-2026 marketing year (MY) will amount to 66 thousand tons, which is the highest result since the 2017/18 MY, according to the information and analytical publication UkrAgroConsult.
“Production is subject to fluctuations influenced by market factors and weather conditions. Since 2020, there has been a steady expansion of acreage. Growth is driven by demand from the EU, the main importer of flax. (…) The combination of expanded acreage and improved yields has been decisive. In the 2024/25 MY, there has been a partial recovery in yields, which are still below the crop’s potential,” analysts explained.
Experts noted that exports remain a key driver of the market — more than 80% of the Ukrainian flax harvest in 2024/25 MY is sent abroad. During the years of war, this share has more than doubled.
The main destination for flax sales is the EU (Italy, Poland, and Belgium are the top importers). After the start of the full-scale war, EU countries significantly reduced their purchases of Russian flax, reorienting themselves to alternative suppliers from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Canada.
At the same time, after peaking in 2023/24 MY (over 70 thousand tons), shipments from Ukraine decreased by approximately 24% in 2024/25 MY.
“The Ukrainian oil flax market is entering a phase of stable recovery. The crop is gradually regaining its position in the crop structure, forming a new niche for small and medium-sized agricultural producers. With support for exports and the development of processing, flax has the potential to establish itself as a promising alternative crop for the northern regions of the country, which are increasingly facing weather risks,” UkrAgroConsult concluded.
In the first 10 months of 2025, Ukraine exported 36,400 tons of honey worth over $84 million, with more than 70% going to European Union countries, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture Taras Vysotsky said during a forum on the European integration of Ukraine’s honey sector.
He noted that Ukraine is traditionally among the top five global honey exporters, continuing to develop beekeeping even in the difficult conditions of war.
“Ukraine is one of the leaders in honey exports to the EU. This testifies to the high quality, trustworthiness, and competitiveness of our products. The development of digital tools, modernization of production, and strengthening of quality control are gradually creating conditions for scaling exports not only to the EU but also to the markets of Asia and the Middle East,” he wrote on Facebook.
At the same time, Vysotsky stressed that Ukraine should ensure full compliance with EU standards and improve production traceability: clearly record where the honey comes from, which apiaries produced it, and how its quality was checked. This approach will open up new and long-term market opportunities for Ukrainian beekeepers.
According to Vysotsky, there are currently 62,697 apiaries and over 2.84 million bee colonies in the Apiary Passport Register.
“According to experts, integration into the EU market could increase Ukrainian honey exports by 25-30% in the next three years. Our task is to do everything possible to make this forecast a reality,” the deputy minister concluded.
According to Serbian Economist, the average annual salary of full-time employees in the EU in 2024 was €39,800, which is 5.2% higher than in 2023, according to Eurostat.
The highest average salaries were recorded in Luxembourg (€82,969), Denmark (€71,565), and Ireland (€61,051).
The lowest figures were in Bulgaria (€15,387), Greece (€17,954), and Hungary (€18,461).
The full list for EU countries in 2024 is as follows:
Luxembourg — €82,969;
Denmark — €71,565;
Ireland — 61,051;
Belgium — 59,632;
Austria — 58,600;
Germany — 53,791;
Finland — 49,428;
Sweden — 46,525;
France — 43,790;
Slovenia — 35,133;
Spain — 33,700;
Italy — 33,523;
Malta — 33,499;
Lithuania — 29,104;
Cyprus — 27,611;
Estonia — 26,546;
Portugal — 24,818;
Czech Republic — 23,998;
Croatia — 23,446;
Latvia — 22,262;
Poland — 21,246;
Romania — 21,108;
Slovakia — 20,287;
Hungary — 18,461;
Greece — 17,954;
Bulgaria — 15,387.
https://t.me/relocationrs/1760
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that his government will not comply with the EU Migration and Asylum Pact and does not intend to accept migrants under relocation schemes. “As long as there is a patriotic government in Hungary, we will not implement the migration pact. We will not accept migrants and will not spend a cent on them,” Orbán wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
The statement came amid the European Commission’s initiative to relocate asylum seekers from the countries under the most pressure — Spain, Italy, Greece, and Cyprus — to other EU states.
A number of countries, including Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, have opposed participation in this scheme.
Orbán has repeatedly criticized pan-European mechanisms for distributing migrants and threatened to sue the European Commission if mandatory resettlement quotas are imposed.
