Can activation schemes work for social inclusion? This is the question to which EAPN tries to answer in this position paper. According to the Network, the answer is ‘yes’ provided that these schemes aim to meet individual person’s needs, wishes and priorities.
On 24-26 November 2005, EAPN held its sixteenth General Assembly in Liverpool, England. This General Assembly welcomed the Norwegian and Cypriot Networks into membership of EAPN. This year the key note theme was: “Delivering the Social Inclusion Agenda”. At the end of the General Assembly, the EAPN delegates adopted the following declaration.
This issue of Network News deals with some of the most critical aspects of the debates about current economic global forces and their impact on Social Europe.
EAPN has sent a letter to the EU Heads of State and Government and to Commission President Barroso, expressing its concerns that having announced an informal summit on the European Social Model, the focus on Social Europe is now getting lost. “If this is the case, this is likely to have the impact of further alienating people concerned about Social Europe from the European Project”, states Fintan Farrell, Director of EAPN.
The need for a minimum income is real. Most EU Member States provide for such schemes. The articles in this Network News issue will show where and why not all are reliable.
On the occasion of the Fourth European Round Table on Social Inclusion to be held in Glasgow on 17-18 October, EAPN points out that the strongest welfare states in the EU are also the most competitive.
This report concerns the Implementation and update Reports prepared by Member States on the National Action Plans on Social Inclusion 2003-2005 (NAPs inclusion). It assesses the added value of these NAPs inclusion Reports.
This paper sets out to present EAPN’s views, recommendations and concrete proposals on the development of the Open Method of Coordination on social protection and social inclusion (OMC/SPSI), and in particular on the objectives for the streamlined OMC/SPSI.
The work done by EAPN in 2004 is outlined in this report. This report primarily reflects the European level work of EAPN but also gives some snapshots of the work at national level of the EAPN National Networks.
Giving access to a wide range of good practices on the ground is the aim of LOCIN – www.locin.info, the European website on local initiatives to combat social exclusion, which has been officially launched today in Brussels.