People experiencing poverty contributed their perspectives in a consultation following von der Leyen’s pledge to eradicate poverty by 2050.
On 18 September, at the Porto Forum 2025, people experiencing poverty contributed directly to shaping the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy during a meeting with Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu.
For over 30 years, the European Anti-Poverty Network, the largest European network fighting poverty, has been working to ensure that politicians and policy-makers listen to people experiencing poverty when designing anti-poverty policies. Following President Ursula von der Leyen’s commitment to eradicate poverty in Europe by 2050, this consultation was a key moment in turning that pledge into concrete action.
European Commission Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu said
“If we are serious about eradicating poverty by 2050, we must tackle its root causes and address the many dimensions of deprivation and exclusion. This is a fair and ambitious goal, and it demands solutions that are concrete, impactful, and sustainable. The Anti-Poverty Strategy, to be launched in 2026, will put people at its centre — ensuring that those with lived experience of poverty help shape policies that deliver real and lasting change in people’s lives.”
Kahina Rabahi, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator at EAPN, underlined
“People have put their lives on hold to answer the Commission’s call, bringing forward constructive and innovative contributions. We should all be proud of the work accomplished so far and hopeful about what lies ahead. Today’s dialogue is more than symbolic; it shows a genuine commitment to social rights and gives new strength to the fight for a future free of poverty.”
Maria Joaquina Madeira, President of EAPN Portugal, stated:
“This meeting demonstrates that there can be no Strategy without the active participation of people experiencing poverty and civil society organisations. People have life experiences that reflect the lived reality of poverty and the impact of public policies. It is necessary to create mechanisms for the participation of these actors at the European level, but also at the national level.”
Before meeting with the Executive Vice-President, participants — both people with lived expertise and representatives of the European Commission — gathered in workshops to identify challenges and discuss solutions on topics such as housing and homelessness, digitalisation, active inclusion, national and local anti-poverty strategies, discrimination, in-work poverty, among others.
Considering the complexity of the phenomenon, a multidimensional approach is crucial, as shown by the diversity of people in the room. The specific case of Roma was brought up by Damaris Paun from the Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre: “Unless Travellers and Roma are named as a target group, with dedicated actions and resources, we will be left out of mainstream anti-poverty responses, and we will be left behind.” This highlights the need to address poverty and discrimination in a complementary way.
The event, organised in partnership with EAPN Portugal, also counted on the presence of Mario Nava, Director-General at DG Employment, Katarina Ivanković-Knežević, Director for Social Rights and Inclusion at DG Employment, and Susana Filipa Lima, Secretary of State for Social Security of the Portuguese Government.
The European Anti-Poverty Network and the experts by experience have high hopes for the future, seeing this meeting as the first step in a long-term collaboration to effectively eradicate poverty in Europe.
