comparison. Ethnic identifiers were merged from the national SILC into the EU-SILC using unique ID household identifiers.<sup>39</sup>

**<mark>To analyze chronic deprivations, we focus on the two components of the AROPE measure that can be estimated and traced over time: persistent at risk of poverty and persistent severe material and social deprivation.</mark>** <mark>We follow the definitions of Eurostat, so that a person is at a persistent risk of poverty (or endures persistent material and social deprivation) if the individual is at risk of poverty (or endures persistent social material deprivation) in the current year and in at least two of the three preceding years.</mark>

IV. Assessing Multidimensional Poverty in the EU Is multidimensional poverty stagnant? Are there diverging trends across the EU countries and subregions?

**While the European Union-27 (EU-27) witnessed a marginal decrease in absolute multidimensional poverty recently, different rates of progress are observed across EU subregions.** The at-risk of poverty or social Exclusion AROPE rate (non-anchored) for EU27 (including Germany) has been stagnant since 2018. Our measure of absolute multidimensional poverty shows similar trends. From 2021 to 2022, the anchored (AROPE) rate<sup>**40**</sup> in the European Union-27 (EU-27 excluding Germany) experienced only a marginal decrease from 20.2 percent to 19.3 percent. Among the EU subregions, Southern Europe (SE) experienced the largest decline in the AROPE rate, dropping from 24.6 percent in 2021 to 22.0 percent in 2022, a decrease of 2.6 percentage points. Conversely, Central Eastern Europe (CEE) exhibited the lowest decline, with its AROPE rate decreasing only slightly from 17.8 percent to 16.4 percent, marking a reduction of 1.3 percentage points. Other subregions, such as Northern Europe (NE) and Western Europe (WE), experienced increases in their AROPE rates during the same period (Figure 1 and Table A3.1).

**Some EU member states present strikingly divergent trends in multidimensional poverty compared to the EU average.** Greece stands out with a striking absolute decrease of 3.7 percentage points. Conversely, Sweden, France and Finland experienced a notable increase (2.1, 2.0 and 1.2 percentage points) (Figure 2 and Table A3.2). Despite the heterogeneous changes in anchored AROPE rates, nearly three-quarters of European countries have reduced multidimensional poverty between 2021 and 2022 (standing significantly below the 45-degree line in Figure 2). Bulgaria and Romania experienced changes ranging from an increase of 0.5 percentage points to a decrease of 1.8 percentage points. Despite these changes, both countries continue to have extremely high incidences by European standards.

> 39 In practice, attrition and the incompleteness of data may impede the seamless tracking of individuals or households over extended periods and pose potential limitations on the overall accuracy and reliability of the findings.

> 40 To monitor AROPE over time, we construct an absolute measure of anchored AROPE, or at Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion with an Anchored Income Threshold. This indicator modifies the traditional AROPE indicator, by adjusting the income threshold used to measure poverty or social exclusion to account for changes in the overall standard of living over time. This adjustment helps to ensure that the poverty threshold remains fixed and consistent across different years, allowing for more accurate comparisons of poverty rates over time.

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