On 24 November, the European Commission published the Commission Working Document “Consultations on the future “EU2020” Strategy, setting out the vision and priorities for the EU for the period 2010 to 2020. This strategy will replace the current Lisbon Strategy and will be a key document shaping the future priorities for EU action.
Therefore it is vital for all those concerned for the future of a more social Europe that the fight against poverty and social exclusion and the need to reverse the trend of growing inequalities in our societies is recognised as a key challenge to be addressed by the EU2020 strategy. If this is recognised as a key challenge then it follows that the EU needs to reinforce its strategy to fight poverty and social exclusion which includes the requirement for each Member State to produce National Action Plans for Poverty. It would also mean that all EU policies (including its policies on vital areas like the provision of services (for example social and health services but also services like transport, electricity etc.) should be monitored for their impact on poverty and inequality.
In the current document produced by the Commission the challenge to address poverty and social exclusion is not clearly addressed and there is no recognition of the impact of living in increasingly more unequal societies. The Document is a consultation document and it asks that people send responses to the Consultation by 15 January 2010 to the following email address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
You can find the Commission’s Consultation Document (about 11 pages) in your own language at http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/secretariat_general/eu2020/consultation_en.htmDownload:
