Previously, people were talking about the rich North and the poor South when discussing Africa and Europe. Nowadays, this approach is applicable to the European Union as well. This is the conclusion which was driven by the famous Bertelsmann Fund (non-governmental organization specialized in finding the solutions of the most critical social problems of the mankind. Social and economic disbalance of the Old World has intensified and became more vivid after the world crisis of 2008. As a result, Sweden, Finland and Denmark have gone far ahead in terms of the level of life and economic sustainability. At the same time, Greece, Spain and Italy ended up on the bottom of all the lists with the economic and social indexes. According to the official information, in 2014 average annual income in Greece was 21 930 €, in Germany two times more – 44 300 € and in France – 49 256 €. That is why the problem of the inequalities became so grave and it has drawn the attention of such organizations as EUO and the Council of Europe, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Bank, etc. Social and territorial justice and equality are considered to be the base for successful social and economic development of the region.

The major input into the development of social and economic equality among the European countries was done by the Council of Europe and the European Union. Basing on thorough research, these two leading organizations have formed their own concepts of social equality and justice, have developed special strategies and the necessary programs, including constant monitoring of the changes. The corresponding organizational structures were created on state and regional levels in order to implement all those initiatives.

The main targets of the European Union in this sphere are:

• To provide the guarantees which will help to reach the corresponding level of the social security;
• The support in the sphere of employment, education and protection of the rights of the workers;
• To ensure an effective protection of the most socially vulnerable groups of people;
• To support equal possibilities;
• To combat social unacceptance and discrimination;
• To leverage the European collaboration in terms of migration.

The correct implementation of the above-describes strategies, targets and initiatives on all the levels will help to solve the issue of social, economic and territorial inequalities and will lead to a more harmonious development of all the countries of the European Union.