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EAPN
The European Anti-Poverty Network
EAPN
  • Who we are
    • What is EAPN?
    • Our members
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      • Poverty & Fundamental Rights
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  • What is poverty ?
    • Introduction
    • Poverty : what is it?
    • How is poverty measured?
    • Facts & Trends
    • Inequality : what is it?
    • Causes of poverty and inequality
    • Sources of information
    • Voices from the ground
  • Members’ Room

Voices of Poverty

  • Who we are
    • What is EAPN?
    • Our members
    • Our structure
      • EAPN Europe Staff
      • Governing bodies
        • General Assembly (GA)
        • Executive Committee
        • Bureau
      • EU Inclusion Strategies Group
    • The way we are funded
    • Get involved
    • Contact us
  • What we do
    • How we work
    • Policy areas we focus on
      • Poverty & Fundamental Rights
      • Wealth & Inequalities
      • Employment
      • Access to Public Services
      • EU Funds
      • Participation of people experiencing poverty
      • Europe 2020 Strategy
      • The Future of Europe
    • Projects
    • Network Development
    • Campaigns & Alliances
      • Campaigns
      • Alliances & Structured dialogue
  • News & Publications
    • Press Room
      • EAPN Press releases
      • EAPN Clippings
      • National Networks Clippings
    • News
      • EAPN News
      • EAPN National Networks News
      • EU Institutions News
    • Publications
      • EAPN key documents
      • EAPN Position Papers & Reports
      • EAPN Policy toolkits & Briefings
      • EAPN Letters
      • EAPN Books
    • Upcoming Events
    • EAPN Photos & Videos
    • EU jargon explained
  • What is poverty ?
    • Introduction
    • Poverty : what is it?
    • How is poverty measured?
    • Facts & Trends
    • Inequality : what is it?
    • Causes of poverty and inequality
    • Sources of information
    • Voices from the ground
  • Members’ Room

European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) Opinion on the European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion

EESC’s Opinion on the European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion was approved at the end of June. It was passed unanimously, with 3 abstentions. The Opinion is available in several languages on: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.soc-opinions.14953.

Sian Jones, EAPN’s Policy Coordinator, was asked to contribute to the work of the opinion as expert for the rapporteur Maureen O’Neill (Scotland), together with Caritas and Henri Lourdelle from ETUC as experts for the Social Committee.

The EESC has advisory status on the Platform (as the Committee of the Regions and the European Parliament), but is being wooed specifically by the Commission as a key actor representing civil society to play a key role in the Platform. EAPN’s concern is to ensure that this does not undermine the commitment to work directly with NGOs at national and EU levels.

Many of EAPN’s concerns are reflected in the opinion:

  • Recognition of poverty representing a violation of human rights
  • The need for policy coherence between economic and social measures and the need to ensure that austerity measures do not increase the risk of poverty
  • The implementation of Active Inclusion as an integrated approach and adoption of a roadmap for implementation
  • A stronger emphasis on creating quality, sustainable jobs and measures to counter in-work poverty encompassing living wages, good working conditions and minimizing poverty traps in the transition between welfare and work
  • Stronger emphasis on reducing inequalities and enforcing fundamental human rights including income distribution
  • Increased emphasis on lifelong learning
  • The use of funding, particularly Structural Funds, targeted to poverty reduction, and emphasis given to simplifying procedures, increasing transparency and monitoring deliveryStrengthening the Social OMC, including National Strategies and National Action Plans for inclusion, and ensuring the participation of civil society stakeholders, including people experiencing poverty in structured dialogue at national and EU level, supported by appropriate EU funding

Some issues were not possible to get agreement on, notably on specific strategies for key target groups, ie homelessness, apart from child poverty and no explicit support for a framework directive on minimum income, but support for the EP’s call for a study of the impact of a legislative proposals to ensure an adequate income of at least 60% of median income in each Member State.

July 7, 2011
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EAPN

Boulevard Bischoffsheim 11
B-1000 Brussels (Belgium)
Tel: +32.2.226.58.50
Fax: +32.2.226.58.69
EAPN Europe Staff

EU Funding

This website has been produced with the financial support of the European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Commission.

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Designed by impactshaker
  • Who we are
    • What is EAPN?
    • Our members
    • Our structure
      • EAPN Europe Staff
      • Governing bodies
        • General Assembly (GA)
        • Executive Committee
        • Bureau
      • EU Inclusion Strategies Group
    • The way we are funded
    • Get involved
    • Contact us
  • What we do
    • How we work
    • Policy areas we focus on
      • Poverty & Fundamental Rights
      • Wealth & Inequalities
      • Employment
      • Access to Public Services
      • EU Funds
      • Participation of people experiencing poverty
      • Europe 2020 Strategy
      • The Future of Europe
    • Projects
    • Network Development
    • Campaigns & Alliances
      • Campaigns
      • Alliances & Structured dialogue
  • News & Publications
    • Press Room
      • EAPN Press releases
      • EAPN Clippings
      • National Networks Clippings
    • News
      • EAPN News
      • EAPN National Networks News
      • EU Institutions News
    • Publications
      • EAPN key documents
      • EAPN Position Papers & Reports
      • EAPN Policy toolkits & Briefings
      • EAPN Letters
      • EAPN Books
    • Upcoming Events
    • EAPN Photos & Videos
    • EU jargon explained
  • What is poverty ?
    • Introduction
    • Poverty : what is it?
    • How is poverty measured?
    • Facts & Trends
    • Inequality : what is it?
    • Causes of poverty and inequality
    • Sources of information
    • Voices from the ground
  • Members’ Room
EAPN