EAPN recently responded to the European Commission’s Green Paper on territorial cohesion,arguing that a sound development of territorial cohesion must go hand in hand with a better, stronger acknowledgement of social inequalities, as both tend to be mutually reinforcing.
In particular, the contribution stressed that:
- The European model of territorial cohesion must be rebalanced with social equality given equal importance, weight and attention to regional and spatial equality;
- Social inclusion NGOs and people experiencing poverty and inequality must be at the heart of the delivery of the territorial cohesion agenda, governance and the institutions involved;
- Methods must be used that enable social inclusion NGOs to deliver that agenda effectively, such as representation on key policy-making bodies, participatory approaches in projects, global grants, technical assistance and full operationalization of the partnership principle.
More information can be found here.
