EU’s 5 next years: EU leaders can choose progress

EAPN Press releases

Half-way through the Europe 2020 Strategy, in a context of failure due to macroeconomic priorities and austerity measures, EAPN calls on Member States to deliver on social targets through Country-Specific Recommendations for 2014 and to make sure that a real consultation on the Mid-Term Review takes place to finally shift to coherence, inclusion, sustainability and participation for the 2nd half of the Europe 2020 Strategy.

17 March 2014, Brussels – The European Anti-Poverty Network addressed last Thursday 13 March a letter to the EU Prime Ministers and Heads of State, ahead of their General Affairs Council meeting tomorrow and Spring Council next 20-21 March, where they will review the progress made on the European Semester for 2014 including the up-coming Recommendations (CSRs) and debate the Commission’s proposals on the Mid-Term Review of the Europe 2020 Strategy. In its Letter, EAPN calls on EU leaders to ensure coherence between social and economic policies, with coherent country-specific recommendations capable of delivering on the Europe 2020 targets for 2014, notably on poverty, and to launch a concrete participative consultation of the Europe 2020 Strategy Mid-Term Review, involving civil-society actors taking place in 2014-15.

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EAPN publishes Widening the Gap – EAPN Assessment of the National Reform Programmes 2013

EAPN position papers and reports

In 2013, EAPN members attempted to engage again in the NRPs, and proposed Alternative 2013 Country-Specific Recommendations based on its NRPs assessment. During this year EAPN looked for improvement – but what progress can we see? This report “Widening the Gap – EAPN Assessment of the National Reform Programmes 2013” sets out the EAPN 2013 assessment of progress on the poverty and other targets through the European Semester in the NRPs, as well as on participation of people experiencing poverty and their organisations.

EP |Micro-loans: helping people out of unemployment and poverty

EU Institutions News

10/11/2015 – Microloans help people in difficult social circumstances to find their way out of unemployment and poverty. Although generally associated with South Asia and Latin America, where the first initiatives were launched four decades ago, they are also increasingly used in Europe. In 2010, the EU launched the European Progress Microfinance Facility to improve conditions for borrowers to obtain small loans. On Tuesday the EP’s employment committee votes on a report concerning its implementation.

Housing Europe | New Guide on Structural Funds & Housing in 2014-2020

Other publications

19/10/2015 – Housing Europe has just released a new guide to provide housing practitioners and policy makers with up-to date information and figures on the funding allocated to housing in each country. The publication includes and detailed country profiles as well as good examples, and provides the reader with a broader view of on how housing will be supported between 2014 and 2020.

The Poverty Alliance (EAPN Scotland): New Statistics Show Increasing In-Work Poverty in Scotland

EAPN National Networks News

01/07/2014 – Today’s figures published by the Scottish Government on Poverty and Inequality show a rise in the number of people in Scotland living in poverty, and highlights the continuing increase in in-work poverty.  In 2012/13, 16 per cent of people in Scotland were living in poverty, compared with 14 per cent the previous year.  In real terms, this means that there are now 820,000 individuals are now living in poverty in Scotland. 

The EU must push Member States to show progress on poverty!

EAPN Press releases

EAPN launches its proposals for Country-Specific Recommendations (CSRs) for 2014

Brussels, 10 March 2013 – The European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN), presents today its proposals for CSRs for 2014, based on its national and European-organization members’ assessment. This comes in the week following the European Commission’s launch of the Communication[1] in preparation for the Mid-Term Review of the Europe 2020 Strategy (2010-2020). EAPN’s synthesis report provides an overview of members’ findings on the social impact of the 2013 CSRs, i.e. Recommendations of the European Commission to member States and their implementation, and proposes positive recommendations for the different Member States. The Report highlights the urgent need for the European Semester to deliver results on the Europe 2020 targets if it is to maintain any credibility, within the context of spiraling poverty levels across Europe, recognized by the Commission’s Communication.