Brussels, 16/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 16 December, the European Commission published a report entitled “The European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion Communication”. At a time when attention is focusing on the challenges facing European budgets, social challenges seem to have greater long-term importance than the current budgetary problems.
How can poverty be tackled and how can poor people be re-integrated in the labour market and society in general? Welfare systems, healthcare, education and housing are all the responsibility of the member states, but the EU dimension is also very important. Three quarters of Europeans say that the EU can play a big role in tackling poverty and economic growth. EU Commissioner László Andor commented: “I am confident that the platform flagship initiative will contribute to meeting the EU level target by acting as a springboard for innovative and cost-effective solutions in the fight against social exclusion.”
Statistics: Andor matched the facts with figures: over 80 million people in the EU are still living at risk of poverty and a quarter of these citizens are children. The economic crisis has exacerbated this situation, exposing vulnerable groups even more with one young person in five out of work and one in ten working young people living in poverty. Children, young people, immigrants, the elderly and other vulnerable people face huge problems with more than 20 million children in the EU currently at risk of poverty. Some 42 million Europeans, 8% of the total population, do not have the material goods they need and cannot afford to pay for heating, commodity bills or for a telephone. The Commissioner said this situation was totally unfair, and morally unacceptable and was also a loss in terms of the economy. People need to understand that having so many people on the fringes of society is a huge loss of human resources, he explained, calling for investment in them.
Aims: As one of the key flagship initiatives of the EU 2020 strategy, the anti-poverty and anti-social exclusion platform sets out measures to support work to achieve the European poverty-reduction target. This initiative supplements and is closely inter-related with other flagship initiatives to improve employment, education and skills. The European anti-poverty platform is made up of member states, European institutions and stakeholders (including trade unions and employers) and will identify measures to be taken in all policy areas to tackle poverty.
Suggested action: The EU inclusion commissioner set out action in the following key areas: (1) Promoting innovation in social policy, finding smart and effective solutions; (2) At EU level, making the best use of all EU funds, in particular the European Social Fund, to support social inclusion objectives and proposing social policy as a priority for future EU funding. The new Microfinance Facility will be up and running in early 2011 and aims to help vulnerable groups access loans to set up their own businesses; (3) Making social protection and services more effective and responsive to new social needs. Andor said the Commission would be publishing a White Paper in 2011 on the safety, adequacy and sustainability of pensions. Actions linked with the quality of social services, health inequalities and housing exclusion are also planned and 2012 will be the European Year of Active Ageing; and (4) Bringing on board a much wider range of partners to fight exclusion. An annual conference will be held to enable stakeholders to examine progress and look at what needs to be done in the immediate future.
The report examines both the challenges facing Europe in the fight against poverty and social exclusion and also the way poverty is changing. Commissioner Andor stressed the need for action against poverty in the whole range of policies to prevent poverty being passed down from one generation to the next by tackling child poverty, using jobs as a way out of poverty by setting up active inclusion strategies and doubling efforts to socially and economically integrate minorities like the Roma (some 70% of whom live in poverty). In this connection, Andor said a report would be published in April 2011 on a European framework for integrating the Roma. (G. B./transl.fl)