European platform against poverty and social exclusion

Definition

The European platform against poverty and social exclusion is one of seven flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

It is designed to help EU countries reach the headline target of lifting 20 million people out of poverty and social exclusion.

The platform was launched in 2010 and will remain active until 2020.

Policy response

The Platform is based on five areas for action:

Delivering actions across the whole policy spectrum such as the labour market, minimum income support, healthcare, education, housing and access to basic banking accounts.
Better use of EU funds to support social inclusion. The Commission has proposed that 20% of the European Social Fund be earmarked for fighting poverty and social exclusion.
Promoting robust evidence of what does and does not work in social policy innovations before implementing them more widely.
Working in partnership with civil society to support more effectively the implementation of social policy reforms. The participation of people experiencing poverty is now acknowledged as a catalyst for inclusion strategies.
Enhanced policy coordination among EU countries has been established through the use of the open method of coordination for social protection and social inclusion (Social OMC) and the Social Protection Committee in particular.

The Europe 2020 poverty target acts as an incentive for developing a stronger focus on social issues each year in the European Commission's Annual Growth Survey.

These policy responses are in line with the social investment approach.

Key actions

Monitoring of EU countries' economic and structural reforms through the European Semester

All EU member countries have translated the Europe 2020 targets into national targets and growth enhancing policies. These individual efforts need to be coordinated to achieve the desired impact on growth and better cohesion.

Scoreboard

The Commission has identified a number of actions to be implemented at European level and designed to help meet the poverty target. They are explained in a staff working document accompanying the Communication on the European platform against poverty and social exclusion.

The Commission will publish regular scoreboards on the work in progress.

Annual Convention of the European platform against poverty and social exclusion

The annual convention provides a valuable opportunity for dialogue between policy makers, key stakeholders and people who have experienced poverty.

2012 Convention in Brussels, Belgium

2011 Convention in Cracow, Poland