Sittings · Document
On Developing a new EU anti-poverty strategy
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs · Rapporteur: João Oliveira
The draft report calls on the Commission to present an EU Anti-Poverty Strategy aiming to eradicate poverty by 2035, with a comprehensive approach, wealth redistribution, and participation of people in poverty.¶¶¶ It urges measures for full employment, quality jobs, adequate minimum income, universal public services, housing, equal pay, social security, and support for vulnerable groups.¶¶¶ It recommends democratic participation mechanisms, an annual conference, a designated Commission lead, national coordinators and action plans, and stronger EU funding, including a dedicated budget of at least EUR 20 billion for the European Child Guarantee.¶¶¶
Committee position. The rapporteur proposes a resolution calling on the Commission to present an EU Anti-Poverty Strategy with the goal of eradicating poverty by 2035, and sets out detailed demands for policies and funding.¶¶
Key points
- Calls on the Commission to present an Anti-Poverty Strategy that recognises poverty as a human rights violation and sets the goal of eradicating poverty by 2035.¶¶¶
- Urges coordination between EU, Member States and regions, and a comprehensive approach making poverty eradication a cross-cutting criterion in sectoral policies.¶¶
- Demands participation of people living in poverty in defining, implementing and evaluating policies that affect them.¶¶
- Calls for full employment as a guideline and policies to protect labour rights, improve job quality, and consider an instrument to combat poverty through the right to work.¶¶¶
- Urges an initiative on adequate minimum income to ensure active inclusion and contribute to eradicating poverty, respecting Member State competences and subsidiarity.¶
- Calls for increased public investment in universal, free, high-quality public services in areas like education, healthcare, housing, water, energy, transport, and culture.¶
- Calls for housing policies ensuring universal access, including a plan to meet housing needs and additional EU funding for public housing stock.¶
- Urges measures for equal pay for equal work, strengthening maternity and parental rights, and universal access to maternal, neonatal and paediatric healthcare.¶¶¶
- Calls for strengthening public social security systems and addressing hidden poverty, stigmatisation, and non-take-up of benefits, with attention to vulnerable groups.¶¶
- Recommends mental health and psychosocial support for families and vulnerable people, and an annual conference to assess the Strategy's implementation.¶¶
- Calls for a horizontal principle requiring ex ante impact assessments of sectoral policies on poverty, and for a designated Commission lead and national coordinators with action plans.¶¶
- Calls for strengthening the next multiannual financial framework and better use of ESF+, ERDF, FEAD and AMIF, and a dedicated budget of at least EUR 20 billion for the European Child Guarantee.¶¶
Who is affected
- People living in poverty, who would gain participation mechanisms and anti-stigmatisation measures.¶¶¶
- Member States, which would need to strengthen social security, healthcare, and housing policies, and appoint national coordinators.¶¶¶
- The European Commission, which would present the Strategy and a minimum income initiative, and develop a housing plan.¶¶¶
- Social organisations combating poverty, which would receive strengthened support.¶
- Vulnerable groups including elderly, disabled, single-parent families, ethnic minorities, and migrants, who are targeted for specific measures.¶
Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text and ¶ links to the paragraph it rests on. Check the text itself before relying on it.