2014

EAPN Task Force on Troika programmes and impact:

This Task Force played an important role for the EAPN reflection around the devastating impact of the Troika intervention in different countries. The Task Force issued a quite impressive report called “Lifeboat or Life sentence?”

EAPN campaign towards the European Parliament Elections:

“Electing champions for a social Europe” campaign: Electing Champions for a Social Europe was a pan-European campaign carried out by EAPN and its members (at that time 29 national networks and 18 European organizations). EAPN invited all the MEP candidates to sign four commitments if they were elected:

• A Social Pact for a Social Europe
• An effective EU Strategy to fight poverty, social exclusion, inequalities and discrimination
• Strengthened democracy and civil-society participation
• An annual Hearing with People experiencing poverty in the European Parliament

13^th European Meeting of People Experiencing Poverty:

“Funding the fight against poverty” The 13th Meeting on “Funding the Fight against Poverty” took place in Brussels from 22 to 24 September 2014. It gathered delegations of people with direct experience of poverty from 31 different national delegations to address and exchange with EU decision-makers.

Horizon 2020 Re-InVEST Project:

This project, funded by the Horizon programme, took place between 2014 and 2018. The RE-InVEST project aimed to contribute to a more solidary and inclusive EU, through an inclusive, powerful and effective social investment strategy at EU level. It brings together civil-society organisations, trade unions, policy makers and academics in the ‘Alliances to fight poverty’ network. The project itself adopts a participative approach that gives voice to vulnerable groups and civil society organisations. EAPN Portugal and EAPN Scotland (The Poverty Alliance) were partners to the project and EAPN Europe was on the Advisory Board.

26^th GA – Tallin (Estonia):

No title. This GA , and due to the impact of the financial cuts in the budget, was a special one. The ExCo decided that only one representative per national network and European Organisations would attend the GA for the first time in EAPN’s history. This would never happen again and from 2015 on every National Network would be represented by 3 persons (no matter the number of the voting rights of each member).

Mid-Term revision of the Europe 2020 Strategy:

The mid-term revision of the Europe 2020 strategy was a devastating disillusion for EAPN and anti-poverty activists. After preparing and in depth analyse of the implementation of the strategy and mobilizing the members for the on-line consultation promoted by the EC, the results were never presented officially, and, even worst, never taken into consideration. Instead the new EC decided to launch a discussion about future of Europe, leaving the Europe 2020 strategy “floating” without any evaluation and therefore possibility to change when most of its targets were not being reached, particularly the one on poverty.