Transcript Input by Fintan Farrell, Director EAPN

Input by Fintan Farrell, Director EAPN
Building an EU We Can Trust
Shaping the EU post 2010 social
stratgey
Bucharest 17 November 2009
EAPN Origins
Established in 1990
A network of independent NGOs involved in
the fight against poverty and social exclusion
(within EU countries, mostly)
To defend the interest of people experiencing
poverty and scocial exclusion in the
development of EU policies and programmes
EAPN Membership and Financing
26 National Networks
23 European Organisations
Recieves fiancial supporet from the
European Connission
EAPN some achievments
 Sustained and Growing Network
 New Articles in the EU Treaties
 EU Social Inclusion Strategy (OMC on Social Proection and
Social Inclusion
 EU Programme to support the strategy (PROGRESS)
 EU Recommendation on Active Inclusion (Adequacy of
Income, Access to Services, Support for access to
employment)
 Partnership Principle in Structural Funds
 EU Meetings of People Experiencing Poverty
 2010 EU Year Against Poverty and Social Exclusion
Poverty – The Reality
 79 million people facing poverty (17%)
 25% Romania (83? Euro)
 10% Netherlands (910 Euro) 10 % Czech Republic
(271Euro)
 8 European Meetings of People Experiencing Poverty
and the Social OMC has helped to put faces to the
figures
Poverty is: ”constant pressure. It wears you down.
Nobody prepared me for living in such harsh conditions”
Participant
8th European Meeting of People Living in Poverty
People Experiencing Poverty
‘I am undocumented, so for you I don’t exist’
‘waking up in bad housing conditions which
saps the will to do anything’
‘being paid regularly, but my debts still
mounting up anyway’
‘hard to talk about, but when I did start to talk
to others I felt no different from them and I
wasn’t embarrassed’
Inequality – The Reality
Increasing inequality –Income of the top 20% 5
times more than the bottom 20% (2007)
Impact of Inequality: Read the book ‘The Spirit
Level’
"We have to accept that inequality is a way
of achieving greater opportunity and
prosperity for all."
Lord Brian Griffiths
(Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs)
Impact of Inequality
Trust and levels of Equality
What's needed to stand up against poverty
Understanding of Poverty as a denial of
fundamental rights – Access to rights and
dignity for all, breaking stereotypes, addressing
discrimination
An economy at the service of people and
public interest – Achieving a fairer distribution of
wealth
Mobilizing all policies – poverty can not be
solved by social policies a lone
What's needed to stand up against poverty
Universal services and targeted measures
– not poor services for poor people
The need for well functioning democracy representative and participative
Solidarity across the globe – the fight
against poverty outside and inside Europe is
part of the same fight.
Priorities for the EU!
2010 EU Year against Poverty and Social
Exclusion: raising awareness and ensuring a
strong political legacy from the year.
A Social and Sustainable EU 2020 strategy
that makes the eradication of poverty and social
exclusion a pre-requisite
Gaining Priority for the social impact of the
Crisis: action to defend public services and
adequate income
An EU We Can Trust: 3 Key demands
1) A new social and sustainable EU
2020 strategy
2) A Social Progress Pact – Delivering
on rights and solidarity
3) Building a dynamic partnership for
change
1. A new social and sustainable strategy
A new social and sustainable post
2010 strategy which makes progress
on poverty and inequality a prerequisite.


New objectives and balanced
architecture reinforcing the role of the
Social OMC
New tools for implementation – Targets
on poverty and Indicators beyond GDP.
2. A Social Pact – delivering on Rights and Solidarity.
 Progress on reducing inequality
 Implementing Active Inclusion
Recommendation
Guaranteeing Adequate Income and access to
services ( EU frameworks)
Defending quality employment
 Challenging discrimination and promoting
diversity.
 Promoting global social justice.
3. Building a dynamic partnership for change
 Implementing better participation – EU
guidelines and benchmarking on
governance.
 Financial support to NGO’s – access to
Structural Funds/ new EU Poverty
Programme.
2010 should contribute a shift in focus so that the
primary concern of politics and our political
discourse should be about the quality of social
relations and how we can develop harmonious
and sustainable societies.
2010 should also be a year of concrete
commitments to rebuild trust