By Séamus Boland, president of the EESC’s Civil Society Organisations’ Group

Despite the fact that the EU is wealthier than most parts of the world, millions of children still rely on their schools to provide them with food on a daily basis. In fact, the number of Member States supplying food to children during school holidays is increasing. This alone tells us that poverty at its most basic level exists and is on the rise, and must be tackled strongly and unhesitatingly by the incoming European Commission.

European poverty statistics are depressing. Around 21% of the EU population is at risk of poverty and social exclusion (Eurostat data for 2023) and almost 25% of children are at risk of falling into the poverty trap (Eurostat data for 2023). It may well be that the problem would be worse without current EU initiatives to drive change in this area, but it has to be admitted that they are not enough. This is why the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and its Civil Society Organisations’ Group welcome Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s announcement that the Commission will be working on an EU anti-poverty strategy addressing the root causes of poverty during the 2024-2029 term of office. The EESC, and my group in particular, have been calling for such a strategy for a long time.

Sadly, poverty is not just a ‘shortage’ of the basic resources that families need on a daily basis. It is the result of a series of long-term circumstances which go hand in hand with long-term deprivation. This deprivation is linked to political systems, which at best ignore certain demographics and at worst discriminate against them.

Solutions will need to assess the deep historical causes of poverty. This means examining every stage of people’s lives, from birth to death. The same applies to housing provision, which is becoming one of the most serious problems facing European societies. This is why, at the request of my group, the EESC has commissioned a study on affordable sustainable housing in the EU. It was presented at our conference on 21 November on protecting Europe’s most vulnerable people through sustainable and affordable housing. With this conference, we demonstrated that affordable housing is one of the key instruments for combating poverty.

We are pleased that the new European Commission will include a commissioner responsible for energy and housing, thus helping to eradicate poverty. However, it is worrying that most politicians still view poverty eradication as a problem to be solved by large, bureaucratically managed budgets. Resources will reach those affected only if this mindset changes. Poverty is a cross-cutting issue and the new European commissioners for energy and housing, equality, cohesion and reforms and just transition must take responsibility for driving this change, as a matter of urgency.