The European Commission on Wednesday unveiled a social plan aimed at helping to fight poverty and homelessness, and promote the rights of people with disabilities across the EU.
The first-ever EU anti-poverty strategy includes a Commission plan to help end poverty in the EU by 2050; a proposal for a Council Recommendation on fighting housing exclusion; and two communications: one on breaking the cycle of child poverty, and one on reinforcing the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities up to 2030.
With 52% of Europeans citing the cost of living as their top concern, the EU is looking to tackle a housing crisis (lack of affordable housing is seen as an immediate and urgent problem by 40% of citizens, and 1 million are homeless); barriers to participation to a rapidly changing labour market; and poverty, affecting 1 in 5 Europeans – and 1 in 4 children.
EC executive vice-president Roxana Mînzatu said the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy was “vital for our future: with strong policies and implementation in all Member States, it must help prevent people from falling into poverty and accelerate action for those already affected.”
The EU anti-poverty strategy sets a path toward reducing the number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion by at least 15 million by 2030, as well as helping eradicate poverty by 2050.
It integrates three priorities: quality jobs for all, as quality employment is the first way out of poverty for those who can work; effective access to quality services and adequate income support; and coordinated action against poverty.
The strategy lists a series of key actions to achieve these priorities. To break the cycle of poverty at every age, the Commission will, for instance, consult social partners on a possible new legal instrument to integrate persons excluded from the labour market. The strategy also lays out ways to support older people through adequate pensions. In addition, it stresses the need to join forces with national, regional and local governments, businesses and civil society to combat poverty, including by establishing a coalition against poverty later this year and a new structured dialogue to consult people experiencing poverty on relevant policies.
W ith no meaningful decline in child poverty over the past five years, the European Child Guarantee is the EU’s main tool to support children in need, in particular through free and effective access to services like early childhood education, healthcare and school meals. The Commission is now proposing to strengthen the guarantee to address the social emergency of persistent child poverty and the needs of vulnerable children. The focus is on securing families’ access to quality jobs, childcare and strong safety nets and improving access of children to mentoring programmes and mental healthcare. The Commission will also pilot with Member States a European Child Guarantee Card to facilitate access to services and a coherent support for children in need. In addition, protecting children from online and offline threats, including exploitation and abuse, is key.
As regards housing exclusion, a proposed Council Recommendation emphasises long-term solutions and prevention, to prevent housing exclusion and homelessness. It also promotes more social and affordable housing and takes a people-centred approach to support people finding a place to call home.
Finally, to boost accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities – over 1 in 5 Europeans, or 90 million people – full inclusion is seen as imperative both to ensure rights are respected and also to boost Europe’s economy and democracy. Barriers remain: only 55% are employed, compared with 77% of persons without a disability; 1.4 million persons with disabilities still live in institutional settings; and 1 in 3 are at risk of poverty, nearly double the EU average.
The Commission is to step up actions, including the EU-wide roll out of the European Disability Card and Parking Card, launching an Alliance for Independent Living to replace institutions with community-based support, improving transport accessibility and investing in assistive technologies such as AI tools.
Questions and answers on the anti-poverty package
Factsheet on the anti-poverty package
Factsheet on enhancing the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities up to 2030
Communication on European Child Guarantee
Council recommendation on fighting housing exclusion
Communication Enhancing the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities up to 2030
Synopsis Report – Enhancing the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities up to 2030
