Poverty eradication demands coordinated action across local, national, and EU levels

On 14 April, the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) will launch its latest EU Poverty Watch report, Promoting and Strengthening National and Local Anti-Poverty Strategies (NAPS & LAPS), at an event in Brussels hosted by the Civil Society Organisations’ Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The event will take place against the backdrop of rising cost-of-living in EU Member States, with rather negative prospects due to current geopolitical developments.

The report provides a comprehensive analysis of current National Anti-Poverty Strategies (NAPS), highlighting common challenges as well as good practices across Europe.

Built on a bottom-up approach, the report draws on findings from nineteen EAPN national networks. These findings clearly demonstrate the crucial role of coordinated action across all levels of governance, local, national, and EU, in achieving the eradication of poverty in Europe, a goal EAPN has been pushing forward. This objective has also gained renewed political momentum following the commitments made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in September 2025.

While the upcoming EU Anti-Poverty Strategy marks an important step forward in the fight against poverty in Europe, the shared competences between the EU and Member States - when it comes to social rights, as well as the multidimensional nature of poverty - require strong and coherent strategies at all levels, especially at national level, said Juliana Wahlgren, Director of EAPN.

National Anti-Poverty Strategies only matter if they lead to real change in people’s lives. This report clearly sets out what needs to be in place for these strategies to be effective. If we want to ensure no one is left behind, governments must turn these elements into concrete and sustained action, said Bridget Kelly, a Traveller Woman from the Irish Traveller Movement and Board Member of EAPN Ireland.

From job insecurity and rising living costs to declining pensions, over a fifth of Europeans are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Reversing poverty trends and ensuring that no one has to choose between eating and heating and social participation is crucial for the cohesion of our societies and the stability of our democracies. Since civil society organisations are essential for combatting poverty, we must protect the civic space in which they operate and support all its initiatives, said Anna Schoemakers, member of the EESC Civil Society Organisations’ Group, and rapporteur for an EESC opinion on Shrinking democratic space as a barrier to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the European Union – placing civil society at the heart of Europe’s fight against poverty (SDG1). The opinion will be presented at and put to the vote of the EESC plenary session in October 2026. 

EAPN and the Civil Society Organisations’ Group will collaborate for the third consecutive year on the event for the launch of the annual Poverty Watch report. The group has been a strong advocate for sustainable development and the eradication of poverty for years and also provided the rapporteur for the EESC opinion on the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy.

The EU Poverty Watch 2025 highlights that eradicating poverty requires coordinated action at local, national, and EU levels, strong government commitment, and strategies that address the multidimensional nature of poverty. EAPN calls on policymakers, governments, and civil society to step up efforts and ensure that no one is left behind, translating commitments into concrete actions that move Europe closer to ending poverty.