Transcript European Parliament Hearing – 3 December 2009

European Year Combating Poverty
Ljubjana - 8 March 2010
A political legacy from 2010
Ludo Horemans, President EAPN
( www.eapn.eu )
EAPN Origins
Established in 1990
A network of independent NGOs involved in the fight
against poverty and social exclusion
(mostly within EU countries)
To defend the interest of people experiencing
poverty and social exclusion in the development of
EU policies and programmes
EAPN Membership and Financing
26 National Networks
23 European Organisations
Emerging Networks
(Estonia, Latvia, Iceland, Turkey…..)
Receives financial support from the European
Commission
(PROGRESS Programme)
EAPN some achievements
1. Building a participative and sustainable network
Sustained and growing network
Increasing participation of people in poverty
Increasing funding of national (some) and EU
networks
EAPN some achievements
2. Impact on EU Policy?
New articles in the EU Treaties
EU Social Inclusion Strategy
(OMC on Social Protection 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)
EU Meetings of People Experiencing Poverty
2010 EU Year Against Poverty and Social Exclusion
The new Europe 2020 Strategy
Smart, Sustainable
and Inclusive Growth
(3 March 2010)
3 Priorities
Smart growth: developing an economy based on
knowledge and innovation
Sustainable growth: promoting a more resource
efficient, greener and more competitive economy
Inclusive growth: fostering a high-employment
economy delivering economic, social and territorial
cohesion
5 headline targets for 2020
Employment rate: for people 20-64: 69%  75%
Investing 3% of GDP in Research & Development
Reduction of gas emissions by 20% (1990 level) or
30% (if the conditions are right)
Education: reduction of school drop out: 15%  10%
Reduction of poverty by 25%: 20 million people out of
poverty
Poverty Target for 2020
Flagship initiative: European Platform against Poverty
At EU level:
– social OMC  a platform for cooperation, peer-review,
exchange of good practices + commitment of public
and private players + targeted support of ESF
– Programmes for social innovation (education, training,
employment, fight discrimination, new agenda for
migrants integration
– Adequat and syustainable social protection and
pension systems + better acces to health care systems
Poverty Target for 2020
Flagship initiative: European Platform against Poverty
At national level (member states):
– Promote shared collective and individual responsibility
– Ensure adequate income support and access to health
care for specific groups by:
• Measures for their specific circomstances
• Social security and pension systems
Building cooperation
in the fight against poverty
Need to take opportunity
from a dedicated EU Year
To build a real awareness of the causes of poverty
and exclusion and hence the policies needed for
Inclusion and eradicating poverty
“Speaking about combating poverty without speaking
about wealth and redistribution is like –
offering to host the winter Olympics without having
access to snow”
Getting Involved in the 2010 Year
Support the joint initiatives of the 2010 NGO Coalition:
• National Focus Weeks
• EU Media Awareness Week (24 - 30 May)
• October Action Week (events 12 October – 17 Oct)
Join in the official events of the Year
Support events from other NGOs and events of other
actors
Lobby for a political legacy for the Year
Key Messages
No significant progress on Poverty and Social
Exclusion over the last 10 Years
Growth and jobs approach hasn’t reduced poverty
and helped to widen inequality gap
Real progress depends on a new or renewed
awareness of the need to tackle inequalities –
(income - wealth / access to resources, services and
decision-making)
Lisbon Strategy Impact on poverty ?
 16% of EU population at risk of poverty – 78 million people
 No significant decrease since 2000 (15% in 2001, Old MS):
increases in AT, BE, NL, UK and PL.
 Higher poverty risk faced by
women (17%), children (19%), older people (19%)
 Value of poverty threshold varies : 558 EU for single person in
Rumania compared to 17, 087 in Luxembourg.
 Inequality gap rising – lowest gaps in SE, SL, CZ, DK, FI, AT, LU
and highest gaps in PL, LA, LI, PT.
 In 2006, income of richest 20% nearly 5 times higher than
income of the poorest 20%.
15
What awareness is needed to make
progress in the fight against poverty (1)
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 – Guaranteeing an adequate income and
achieving a fairer distribution of wealth. More equal
societies are better for everyone/ growth without fair
distribution won’t deliver on poverty
Mobilizing all policies – poverty cannot be solved by
social policies alone / employment is not the only solution.
What awareness is needed to make
progress in the fight against poverty (2)
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.
A Political Legacy from 2010
Getting the Europe 2020 strategy right
Identifying Poverty, social exclusion and inequalities
as key challenges to be addressed in the EU2020
strategy
Identifying redistribution of wealth as key
Ensuring participation and ownership of the EU2020
strategy
A Political Legacy from 2010
Getting the instruments right
High level declaration from Heads of State and
Governments
Going beyond GDP to measure progress
Re-launch a tougher Social Open Method of
Coordination (OMC) – including poverty targets and
better governance.
A Political Legacy from 2010
Getting the Policies right (1)
 Implement Active Inclusion recommendation :
• Adequate Income for a decent life: towards a framework
directive on Adequate Minimum Income Schemes
• Inclusive labour market: reverse the trend towards
working poor: support not punishment for people
excluded from the labour market.
• Quality Services : EU Framework Directive to guarantee
accessible and affordable quality services.
A Political Legacy from 2010
Getting the Policies right (2)
Follow up of commitments made in the thematic year
on child poverty and the year on homelessness
Mainstream equality / anti discrimination in anti
poverty policies
A Political Legacy from 2010
 Getting the Funding Right
A new EU Poverty Programme (Progress+)
which includes support for capacity building of
anti poverty NGOs, and demonstration projects in
the fight against poverty
Use of Structural Funds for inclusion and
accessible to anti poverty NGOs.
We need a ‘new’ vision for the EU?
“an organisation of the world that will
allow all resources to be exploited as
well as possible and to be distributed
as evenly as possible among persons,
so as to create peace and happiness
throughout the entire world”
(Jean Monnet - 1943)
Building cooperation
in the fight against poverty