[Brussels] – With 92.7 million people in the EU at risk of poverty or social exclusion, the European Parliament will host the second edition of European Anti-Poverty Day, co-organised by the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) and MEPs from The Left, S&D, the Greens/EFA and Renew Europe. The event, which will feature an address by European Commission Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu, will bring together Members of the European Parliament, institutional representatives, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, representatives of the Spanish Government, civil society organisations and people experiencing poverty to discuss the implementation of the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy.
With its first-ever European Anti-Poverty Strategy, the European Commission goes beyond a commitment to reducing poverty, pledging to contribute to its eradication by 2050.
“In a context in which populist narratives are gaining ground, with strong and practical impacts on the lives of people experiencing poverty and social exclusion, it is with great enthusiasm that we see the Commission, especially with the presence of Roxana Mînzatu, and so many MEPs supporting this event. Our main question is: how shall we invest the money to protect the most vulnerable amongst the most vulnerable?” said Juliana Wahlgren, EAPN’s Director.
However, the commitment to the eradication of poverty is viewed with caution, since Europe is far from achieving the Porto targets to reduce poverty by at least 15 million people, including 5 million children, by 2030.
“This event shows that people experiencing poverty can help shape Europe’s response to it. Meaningful participation means giving their experience weight in decisions about policies and budgets and being accountable for what follows. The test of the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy will be whether we have the political will to turn that knowledge into action and match our ambition with the funding it requires,” said Marie Toussaint, Member of the European Parliament, The Greens/EFA and Co-Chair of the Intergroup on Fighting against Poverty and Social Exclusion.
“As someone with lived experience of poverty, I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in discussions on the issues that directly affect people’s lives. These include the funding needed to implement the Anti-Poverty Strategy, the protection of social rights, tackling socio-economic discrimination, ensuring the meaningful participation of people experiencing poverty, and implementing the European Child Guarantee. People experiencing poverty should not merely be the subjects of policies; they should also have a meaningful voice in shaping them. There is still a long way to go to make participation truly meaningful and inclusive, but every opportunity to bring lived experience into discussions about policies that affect people’s lives is an important step forward,” said Adriana Buleza, a person experiencing poverty from EAPN Romania.
The discussions will seek to identify the policy, legal and financial measures needed to ensure that the EU’s commitment to eradicating poverty by 2050 translates into meaningful change for people experiencing poverty.