European Year Combating Poverty Ljubjana - 8 March 2010 A political legacy from 2010 Ludo Horemans, President EAPN ( )

EAPN Origins  Established in 1990  A network of independent NGOs involved in the fight against poverty and social exclusion (mostly within EU countries)  To defend the interest of people experiencing poverty and social exclusion in the development of EU policies and programmes

EAPN Membership and Financing  26 National Networks  23 European Organisations  Emerging Networks (Estonia, Latvia, Iceland, Turkey…..)  Receives financial support from the European Commission (PROGRESS Programme)

EAPN some achievements 1.Building a participative and sustainable network  Sustained and growing network  Increasing participation of people in poverty  Increasing funding of national (some) and EU networks

EAPN some achievements 2. Impact on EU Policy?  New articles in the EU Treaties  EU Social Inclusion Strategy (OMC on Social Protection and Social Inclusion)  EU Programme to support the strategy (PROGRESS)  EU Recommendation on Active Inclusion (Adequacy of Income, Access to Services, Support for access to employment)  EU Meetings of People Experiencing Poverty  2010 EU Year Against Poverty and Social Exclusion

The new Europe 2020 Strategy Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth (3 March 2010)

3 Priorities  Smart growth : developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation  Sustainable growth : promoting a more resource efficient, greener and more competitive economy  Inclusive growth : fostering a high-employment economy delivering economic, social and territorial cohesion

5 headline targets for 2020  Employment rate: for people 20-64: 69%  75%  Investing 3% of GDP in Research & Development  Reduction of gas emissions by 20% (1990 level) or 30% (if the conditions are right)  Education: reduction of school drop out: 15%  10%  Reduction of poverty by 25%: 20 million people out of poverty

Poverty Target for 2020  Flagship initiative: European Platform against Poverty At EU level : –social OMC  a platform for cooperation, peer-review, exchange of good practices + commitment of public and private players + targeted support of ESF –Programmes for social innovation (education, training, employment, fight discrimination, new agenda for migrants integration –Adequat and syustainable social protection and pension systems + better acces to health care systems

Poverty Target for 2020  Flagship initiative: European Platform against Poverty At national level (member states): –Promote shared collective and individual responsibility –Ensure adequate income support and access to health care for specific groups by: Measures for their specific circomstances Social security and pension systems

Building cooperation in the fight against poverty

Need to take opportunity from a dedicated EU Year  To build a real awareness of the causes of poverty and exclusion and hence the policies needed for Inclusion and eradicating poverty  “Speaking about combating poverty without speaking about wealth and redistribution is like – offering to host the winter Olympics without having access to snow”

Getting Involved in the 2010 Year  Support the joint initiatives of the 2010 NGO Coalition: National Focus Weeks EU Media Awareness Week ( May) October Action Week (events 12 October – 17 Oct)  Join in the official events of the Year  Support events from other NGOs and events of other actors  Lobby for a political legacy for the Year

Key Messages  No significant progress on Poverty and Social Exclusion over the last 10 Years  Growth and jobs approach hasn’t reduced poverty and helped to widen inequality gap  Real progress depends on a new or renewed awareness of the need to tackle inequalities – (income - wealth / access to resources, services and decision-making)

Lisbon Strategy Impact on poverty ?  16% of EU population at risk of poverty – 78 million people  No significant decrease since 2000 (15% in 2001, Old MS): increases in AT, BE, NL, UK and PL.  Higher poverty risk faced by women (17%), children (19%), older people (19%)  Value of poverty threshold varies : 558 EU for single person in Rumania compared to 17, 087 in Luxembourg.  Inequality gap rising – lowest gaps in SE, SL, CZ, DK, FI, AT, LU and highest gaps in PL, LA, LI, PT.  In 2006, income of richest 20% nearly 5 times higher than income of the poorest 20%. 15

What awareness is needed to make progress in the fight against poverty (1)  Understanding of Poverty as a denial of fundamental rights – Access to rights and dignity for all, breaking stereotypes, addressing discrimination  An economy at the service of people and public interest – Guaranteeing an adequate income and achieving a fairer distribution of wealth. More equal societies are better for everyone/ growth without fair distribution won’t deliver on poverty  Mobilizing all policies – poverty cannot be solved by social policies alone / employment is not the only solution.

What awareness is needed to make progress in the fight against poverty (2)  Universal services and targeted measures - not poor services for poor people  The need for well functioning democracy - representative and participative  Solidarity across the globe - the fight against poverty outside and inside Europe is part of the same fight.

A Political Legacy from 2010  Getting the Europe 2020 strategy right  Identifying Poverty, social exclusion and inequalities as key challenges to be addressed in the EU2020 strategy  Identifying redistribution of wealth as key  Ensuring participation and ownership of the EU2020 strategy

A Political Legacy from 2010  Getting the instruments right  High level declaration from Heads of State and Governments  Going beyond GDP to measure progress  Re-launch a tougher Social Open Method of Coordination (OMC) – including poverty targets and better governance.

A Political Legacy from 2010  Getting the Policies right (1)  Implement Active Inclusion recommendation : Adequate Income for a decent life: towards a framework directive on Adequate Minimum Income Schemes Inclusive labour market : reverse the trend towards working poor: support not punishment for people excluded from the labour market. Quality Services : EU Framework Directive to guarantee accessible and affordable quality services.

A Political Legacy from 2010  Getting the Policies right (2)  Follow up of commitments made in the thematic year on child poverty and the year on homelessness  Mainstream equality / anti discrimination in anti poverty policies

A Political Legacy from 2010  Getting the Funding Right  A new EU Poverty Programme (Progress+) which includes support for capacity building of anti poverty NGOs, and demonstration projects in the fight against poverty  Use of Structural Funds for inclusion and accessible to anti poverty NGOs.

We need a ‘new’ vision for the EU? “an organisation of the world that will allow all resources to be exploited as well as possible and to be distributed as evenly as possible among persons, so as to create peace and happiness throughout the entire world” (Jean Monnet )

Building cooperation in the fight against poverty