Maybe there isn't enough to identify trends on that scale.  I'm also well aware that apart from some level 1 undergrad social policy I have little theoretical knowledge of sociology/social policy etc.  My expertise has developed through personal experience, the work I do and reading around as much as I can when new research and policy papers come out.  But sometimes lacking the knowledge of how lines of thought have developed, hinders my full understanding on some issues.

But then again, it also provides me with a perspective that isn't narrowed by conventional lines of wisdom.  There are pan European reports and stats on a number of websites and for me it could be a case of trawling through these, picking a topic, presenting what I can find on that and seeing what experiences are on the ground elsewhere.

My interest in asking members - how do you view this issue, what's happening in your country - comes from the fact that I know there are significant enough culture differences that a UK policy that works here would fall totally flat elsewhere in Europe (the diary I did on flexicurity brought that up). If we hope to seek ways of influencing at a European level we need to have some understanding of the impact and barriers that our policy direction could have on individual countries.  

So people may not have stats to bring to me but they can give an insight into how that topic is dealt with. Our discussion around ethnicity and the difference in France and the UK on approach was hugely insightful for me.

Ad astra per aspera