EAPN Speaks at ImPRovE Mid-term Conference ‘The distributive impact of policies before and during the crisis – Lessons for Europe 2020’

EAPN News

08/04/2014 – EAPN spoke at the IMPROVE Conference on The distributive impact of policies before and during the crisis: Lessons for Europe 2020. The conference, held in the University of Antwerp presented the mid-term results of the EU funded project ImPRovE. The project is scrutinizing the impact of policies on poverty and inequality trends during the Lisbon era and the recent economic crisis, drawing lessons for the future. It paid particular attention to the countries hardest hit by the crisis and reflected on how the Europe 2020 targets can be reached.

Spring Alliance European Elections’ Manifesto is out!

EAPN News

As a member of the Social Platform, EAPN supports and has contributed to the Manifesto of the Spring Alliance (Social Platform, EEB, Concord, ETUC) for the European Elections A better Europe now, which aims to present a positive vision of Europe “that puts people and planet first”.  In our previous Flash newsletter, we mentioned the launch of the manifesto (08/04) but didn’t provide you with the actual document. There it is!

REGISTER NOW!! EU Alliance for a more democratic, social and sustainable European Semester is launched at the EESC

EAPN News

This 07 April, the EU Alliance for a more democratic, social and sustainable European Semester kick starts in a hearing in the European Economic and Social Committee. The public hearing, Strengthening the legitimacy of the European Semester, will present the Semester Alliance, which gathers 16 European networks of civil-society organisations and trade unions, and their new report “Civil-Society Proposals for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive growth“. This is a public hearing targeting EU decision makers and stakeholders, but open to everyone. REGISTER BY 1st APRIL!

EU leaders disregard need for action on social impact of the crisis

EAPN News

24/03/2014 – EAPN reacts to the General Affairs and Spring Councils Counclusions – Whereas EU leaders recognise the continuing importance of the Europe 2020 goals, including on inclusive growth, and the failure of the Targets, calling for the need to ‘step up efforts’, the Conclusions of the Spring Council do not even mention poverty, nor the social impact of the crisis, which is a key part of objective 4 of the AGS!

Inequality: Consequences for society, politics and people: 5-6 March 2014, European Parliament

EAPN News

05/06/03/2014 – EAPN participated in this important and well-attended conference, held in the European Parliament on the 5-6 March, organized by the Progressive Economy Forum and the Social and Democrats Alliance (S&D). The conference analysed the causes and the consequences of the crisis before looking at key priorities for action. Key speakers included Professor Joseph Stigliz, James K Galbraith, Martin Schulz, Jean-Paul Fitoussi, and Kate Pickett (co-author of the Spirit level), followed by detailed workshop discussions on recent academic papers and evening round table debates. Stigliz called inequality “the key problem of our time, which is growing across the globe, conditioned by a wrong economic model. But it´s not just about economics – policies count……how we responded to the crisis has made things worse. Economic inequality leads to political inequality, which leads to new rules of the game that produce more inequality…. The rules of the game in the end are about distribution and redistribution”.

Investing in children alliance

EU Alliance for Investing in Children – No inclusive growth with increasing child poverty

EAPN News

10/03/2014 – There are 26,5 million children across the European Union at risk of poverty or social exclusion – half a million more than a year ago – and the economic, financial and social crisis is only putting even more children at risk. On the occasion of the EPSCO Council Meeting on 10 March, the EU Alliance for Investing in Children emphasises that tackling and preventing child poverty and social exclusion are key to achieving the Europe 2020 headline targets.

Commission lacks ambition in replying to first European Citizens’ Initiative

EAPN News

19/03/2014 –  The European Commission (EC) published a Communication today that gives its official response to the first successful European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) which called on the EC “to implement the human right to water and sanitation in European law.” In the Communication, the European Commission does recall the importance of the human right to water and sanitation and states the importance of water as a public good and fundamental value and that “water is not a commercial product.” However, that’s as far as it goes.

EAPN loses a friend and a great poverty fighter

EAPN News

EAPN was saddened to hear recently of the untimely death of our friend and colleague Patricia Stepman on 12 March 2014.  For more than 20 years Patricia has fought with heart and soul against poverty and exclusion, convinced that every human being has a right to a dignified existence. She was a supporter and co-founder of the Fourth World group People for People (Mensen voor Mensen), an association where the ‘poor’ take the floor in Aalst, Belgium. Patricia was a very recognizable contributor to the European Meetings of people experiencing poverty and was an active participant in a number of General Assemblies and other EAPN meetings.