The study covers the countries of Eastern Europe: Ukraine, Poland, Romania and Lithuania, which have common borders, similar history, mentality and are characterized by the dominance of the social democratic model of the welfare state, which is essentially aimed to undertake primary responsibility for financing basic social standards from the state budget. The study focuses on the basic indicators that show the state’s approach to education, health care and employment. In order to establish and analyze the changes that have taken place in the social state standards of the studied countries, the ten-year period from 2010 to 2019 was covered. The statistical data that reflect the expenditures on education and medicine from the volume of GDP of each state budget as well as the unemployment rate are analyzed. Positive dynamics has been established for all studied countries during the ten-year period in the financing of such areas as education and medicine. Optimistic indicators of the reduced number of unemployed in Poland, Romania and Lithuania were revealed. It has been established that the governments of Ukraine, Poland, Romania and Lithuania have similar approach to financing basic social needs. The role of civil society in the development of the welfare state and the new trends of nations’ movement towards the construction of a rational economy, social standards and political stability are considered.