The European Parliament has always taken a firm stand against poverty and social exclusion, which is well reflected by its everyday legislative and non-legislative work, including several major reports and resolutions that have been adopted in the last few years.
To voice its commitment in the fight against poverty, social exclusion and the negative consequences of the crises and highlight its efforts to counter them, the European Parliament developed a communication campaign, taking place in the framework of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion (2010) and which will continue with the European Year of Volunteering (2011). The campaign is leading up to the Citizen's Agora on Crises and forms of poverty, the largest consultation with civil society that will be organised by the European Parliament in cooperation with the European Economic and Social committee at the end of January 2011. The symbol of the campaign is a blue ribbon with European stars. It represents the commitment of the European Parliament to fight against poverty and social exclusion, but furthermore, it will represent its "social face", reminding the public that a social conscience and solidarity are among the European Parliament's core values, embedded in all aspects of its work.
The European Parliament decided to launch this campaign during the October session week in Strasbourg, a day after the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17th October). Moreover, there are many subjects directly or indirectly related to the topics of poverty, social exclusion and crises on the Parliamentary agenda in October.
To highlight the main points of the European Parliament's communication campaign:
You can follow all the mentioned debates and speeches in the plenary on the European Parliament's website www.europarl.europa.eu under EP Live section or via EuroparlTV.
As it has in the past, the European Parliament will continue to raise its voice for the concerns of its citizens: in particular those less advantaged or at risk of social exclusion, such as the poor, the disabled, or the elderly.