08/12/2014 – EAPN has sent a letter with 6 key messages to Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs ahead of their EPSCO meeting on the 11th December, where they will discuss progress on the Europe 2020 Strategy and the Mid-Term Review, including their first response to the new Annual Growth Survey 2015. With its letter, EAPN shares its assessment of the 2015 AGS “Fresh start or broken promises?”.
08/12/2014 – Welcoming Dimitris Avramopoulos in his position as new EU Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs, a group of 26 organisations, including EAPN, asked the Commissioner in a joint letter on 8 December 2014 to take measures to realise the rights of all children affected by migration.
On the 3rd December, the EU Semester Alliance held a well-attended hearing in the European Parliament, hosted by Hon. Jean Lambert MEP (Greens / EFA) and Hon. Marian Harkin MEP (ALDE). It is the second such hearing organized by the Alliance in 2014, presenting to decision-makers and stakeholders the Alliance’s assessment of and proposals for a democratic, social and sustainable way forward for the Europe 2020 Strategy and the European Semester in 2015.
Brussels, 03/12/2014 – Today, the EU Alliance for a democratic, social and sustainable European Semester, a broad coalition bringing together environmental, social and equality NGOs and trade unions, is holding a hearing in the European Parliament hosted by Jean Lambert MEP (Greens/EFA) and Marian Harkin (ALDE). The hearing aims to highlight the missing voice of civil society in the debate on the revision of the Europe 2020 Strategy, and the urgent need to include them as key partners in the EU governance process known as the European Semester, at national and EU level. It will also debate with Parliament and stakeholders, initial reactions to the new AGS 2015 package adopted by the European Commission on Friday the 28th November.
25/11/2014 – Theresolution promoted by Marita Ulvskog acting chair of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, was adopted in plenary by a good majority. It includes some important commitments promoted by EAPN and the Semester Alliance: including the need for benefits to be spread throughout society, on access for the most vulnerable to social security and the labour market, on civil society involvement, on the job potential of the green economy & on IMF, demand for quality jobs and ILO warnings on the risks of growing inequalities.
14/11/2014 – The extent of poverty in Europe comes under scrutiny in this edition of Utalk. The question is from Kristalina in Sofia, Bulgaria: “One EU citizen in four is said to be at risk of poverty or social exclusion. But what’s behind this figure?”. Barbara Helfferich, Director of the European Anti-Poverty Network responds: “There are 124 million people in the European Union at risk of poverty.That’s a hell of a lot of people and it’s an unexpected number for many people I think.
20/112014 – 20 November marks the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child, which rapidly became the most widely ratified international human rights treaty in history. When around 28% of children live at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU, according to the EU Alliance for Investing in Children it is also a day to remind decision makers “to undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures” for the implementation of children’s “economic, social and cultural rights to the maximum extent of their available resources”, as the UN Convention says.
EAPN, represented by 38 delegates from all over Europe, attended the 4th Annual Convention of the European platform against poverty and social exclusion (#Poverty2020) these 20-21 November and put forward 3 key messages, along with 10 messages from the 13th Meeting of People experiencing Poverty held last September. These messages were released on Thursday 20 November, through a press release. For EAPN, the participation of civil society stakeholders, starting by people experiencing poverty, in decision-making processes is key to poverty eradication.
Next 03 December, Jean Lambert (Greens/EFA) and Marian Harkin (ALDE) host a HEARING with EU Semester Alliance on Strengthening the legitimacy of the European Semester to get smart, sustainable nd inclusive growth – Giving a Voice to Civil Society proposals for Europe 2020. 03 December 2014 – 9.00-12.30 – European Parliament: PHS 7C50.
03/11/2014 – In response to our ECI “water is a human right!” the European Commission said it would explore “benchmarking” as a way to achieve better quality water services in the EU. As a first step it organised a multi-stakeholder meeting to discuss the subject and to hear the opinions of stakeholder in water services.