EAPN Spain: 2014 National Reform Programmes and the Recommendation of the European Council

The European Council gives warning to Spain regarding falling income and rising poverty and inequality

03/06/2014 – EAPN Spain has recently discovered the Recommendations of the European Council on the Spanish Government’s NRP. First, the measures outlined will involve a higher level of cuts in order to keep adjusting the deficit. If the implementation of this recommendation does not take into account the negative social impacts, inequality rates, adult and youth unemployment, poverty and social exclusion rates will inevitably keep rising. Second, the Council is aware of the acute social problems in Spain, and is asking the Spanish Government to may more attention to it. 

CILAP (EAPN Italy): Seminar on local development

Bitonto, June 6th 2014. CILAP EAPN ITALIA in cooperation with the local School District and the Municipality organizes the seminar, “Sviluppo armonioso del territorio: Rigeneare Comunità Coltivando Saperi” (Local development – Regenerating the Communities Cultivating Knowledge”.

FNARS (member of EAPN France): press conference and mobilisation call on Government to put (back) vulnerable people at the heart of its agenda

Despite numerous alerts sent by organisations to the Government on the social difficulties throughout the country, the Collectif des Associations Unies (United organisations network) deplores the lack of consideration of the Government as to people living in poverty and in poor housing. As a result, the organisations part of the Collectif will mobilise next Monday, Whit Monday, a day “of solidarity”, calling on the Government to put (back( vulnerable people at the heart of its agenda. 

EAPN Spain: Those who committed to a Social Europe

30/05/2014 – EAPN-ES commitment with citizens, especially the most vulnerable, is not only in the run up to European elections last May 25 work. During the campaign for a Europe free of poverty, social exclusion and inequality, more than 50 candidates of different political parties contesting the elections committed to achieving this goal.

EAPN Spain: Retouching statistical data relative poverty – 27.3% of Spain’s population lives at risk of poverty and social exclusion

28/05/2014 – Yesterday new data from INE Survey of Quality of Life ( CVD) were published. 2013 final data , with the headline “In the last year, the population at risk of poverty has fallen to 20.4 % compared to 20.8 % last year.” This holder contains two distortions. The first is the so-called statistical effect: poverty is called “relative ” because it is related to the level of the average household income. And in Spain , the average household income has done nothing but fall since 2008 , from 30,045 euros then to the 27,747 euros now. It decreased in 3.5 % only in the last year. That means the poverty line has moved down has well. That actually means that the less we earn, the poorer we are, … the lower the percentage of ” relative poverty”. But therefore, those on fixed income, such as pensioners and retirees, with households ‘theoretically” individual, have gone over that threshold, even if only of a few euros. With this calculation , in 2009 , 23.8 % of older people were in relative poverty and only only 12.7 % today ! Likewise, according to that calculation,child poverty has dropped since 2009,from 28.9% of those under 16 years, to 26.7 % now.