Cutting the pear in two?

While spending some research time in Paris this Spring, I had the opportunity to not only explore the legal-theoretical differences between France and the Netherlands, but also to do some comparative empirical research on consumer issues. As you might guess, this latter part mostly involved enjoying French cuisine. Anyone having had similar possibilities to visit EU Member States will have noticed that there are some quite considerable differences in respect to the quantity of food a euro will buy you from one country to another.

Data on consumer price levels for food, which were published by Eurostat today, confirm that last year 'the price level of a comparable basket of food and non-alcoholic beverages was more than twice as high in the most expensive EU27 Member State than in the cheapest one'. Price levels for alcoholic beverages and tobacco show even greater price disparities.

For a full overview, please consult the press release and Eurostat website. For more on French food (and an explanation of the title of this post), click here.

How much time did you spend on the internet today?

Fourthly, some interesting facts and figures on internet use were published by the EU's statistical office Eurostat. Although the level of internet access has increased Europe-wide, significant differences in use remain among Member States. While e-mailing and searching for information on goods and services are still at the top of the list of online activities, it seems that a majority of internet users is also more often reading the news online, posting to social media, internet banking and consulting travel services. 

Creating websites and blogging are less common initiatives. Since we are in the blogosphere now, I cannot help but notice the following: 'The Netherlands (17%) and Hungary (16%) recorded a proportion of internet users who created websites and blogs in 2012 that was almost double the EU27 average.'

The full overview of data is available here.