Germany is doing great, there is a budget surplus, people are having lots of work, unemployment is at its lowest point in 25 years.
And then the EU comes and says the German government has contributed to an increase in poverty between 2008 and 2014.
Much has been said about incomes in Germany. The difference between median and average is exploited to claim that poverty is not a big issue. Long debunked claims that poor people don't pay taxes are still used in articles by 'reputable' newspapers. It may come as a surprise to many that the German poor pay the same share of their income in taxes as wealthy residents.
That's the joy of high indirect taxes.
Next is the difference between income (wages and salaries) and wealth (assets, property) . Income inequality in Germany is relatively moderate, but the wealth distribution is very skewed. This chart shows a comparison of European countries, with the average in blue and the median in teal. Germany (Deutschland 2010) shows a big discrepancy between average and median, which means that a lot of wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small number of people.
What exactly is the criticized by the EU?
The EU says that too few Germans have benefited from the period of extraordinary economic growth.
This earlier post has some examples of the many ways German governments have squeezed the bottom earners over the past decades: Germany's social security retirement system: 50% or recipients under poverty level by 2030?
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