EuroHealthNet welcomes the report on child poverty adopted by the Employment and Social Affairs Committee of the EP

13/10/2015 – The own-initative report on “Reducing inequalities with a special focus on child poverty”[1] was adopted today by the Employment and Social Affairs Committee of the European Parliament. The report – by rapporteur Inês Cristina Zuber MEP – makes several recommendations that could make a real contribution to reducing child poverty and improving health equity. These recommendations are also in line with the evidence from DRIVERS[2] research, a FP7 project coordinated by EuroHealthNet and with EAPN as one of the main partners.

Social Platform | The EU does not want refugees and migrants in its backyard

19/10/2015 – Do you really know how your Heads of state want to deal with the flow of refugees and migrants coming to Europe? Once you know, will you agree with them? When our political leaders met last Thursday (16 October) they agreed “to stem the flows” of migrants, to strengthen the protection of EUs external borders, and ensure the returns of those who made it to Europe but were denied international protection.

AGE Platform | International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: Start acting on the Europe 2020 poverty target!

16/10/2015 – While the UN is celebrating the international day for the eradication of poverty, and the global community has set itself the goal of ‘ending poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including by eradicating extreme poverty by 2030’ in the Sustainable Development Goals, the European Union faces major challenges in meeting its own target to reduce poverty by 20 million between 2008 and 2020. For one in five Europeans over 50 living at risk of poverty, decisive action is needed.

Video: Increasing ‪inequality & ‪segregation in ‪EU ‪cities explained in 1 minute

19/10/2015 – Poverty, inequality and segregation are increasing in European Cities. The widening gap between rich and poor is leading to segregation in more and more European cities. The rich and the poor are living at increasing distance from each other, and this can be disastrous for the social stability and competitive power of cities. Check out this video to get an idea of this rigorous comparative research on socio-economic segregation in 13 European cities: Madrid, Milan, Tallinn, London, Stockholm, Vienna, Athens, Amsterdam, Budapest, Riga, Vilnius, Prague, and Oslo. Led by Professor, Maarten Van Ham “Segregation Europe” argues that a strong EU Urban Agenda is needed to create attractive, inclusive and competitive cities.

European Policy Centre discusses the refugee crisis

On 1st of October 2015 the European Policy Centre hosted a Policy Dialogue on the European response(s) to the refugee, migrant and humanitarian crisis: Will the EU and Member States succeed? The speakers called for the EU-coordinated approach in facing the high increase of refugees entering the EU, which could include more effective implementation of the Commission’s proposal for relocation and resettlement, the harmonization of the national asylum systems, the reorientation of the EU funds to the issue of migration, improving the EU monitoring of the flows of immigration, the cooperation between the EU and countries of emigration and, most importantly, facing the root causes for crisis in Syria.

AGE Platform Europe | Older persons’ rights should not be jeopardised by EU objectives on national fiscal consolidation and structural reforms!

22/09/2015 – The European Semester 2015 – the EU yearly cycle of economic policy coordination – has once more overlooked fundamental rights. AGE Platform Europe is deeply concerned that in the 2015 Country Specific Recommendations the social objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy have further receded to the background. Many reforms in social protection – in particular in pensions, health and long-term care – are now challenging older persons’ rights to participate in society, live independently and in dignity.

Social Platform | What would Europe for the common good look like?

28/09/2015 – On 30 September, the College of Commissioners will discuss what a new European social agenda should look like in practice. On 1st October, Pierre Baussand, Director of Social Platform, Barbara Helfferich, EAPN DIrector and other civil-society representatives will meet Marianne Thyssen, Commission for Employment, Social Affairs to discuss how to make Europe worthy of a social ‘triple A’ status.