EU Anti-poverty Strategy

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Rengiamos (updated on 06/05/2025) - Bureau decision date: 29/01/2025
Nuoroda
SOC/829-EESC
Opinion Type
Exploratory opinion Commission
Rapporteur
Krzysztof BALON
Civil Society Organisations - GR III
Poland
Co-rapporteur
Sophia REISECKER
Workers - GR II
Austria
Plenary session number
598
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Poverty

Practical information

Summary

The political guidelines for the next European Commission 2024-2029 announced a new Action Plan for implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights. The Action Plan will serve as an overarching framework for new initiatives to encourage progress towards the 2030 targets on employment, skills and poverty reduction. A first-ever EU Anti-Poverty Strategy will be closely aligned with this new Action Plan and will support the achievement of the 2030 poverty reduction target of at least 15 million less persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion by 2030 (compared to 2019), of which at least 5 million should be children.

The primary responsibility for addressing poverty rests with the Member States, with some having adopted national anti-poverty strategies. In addition, social partners and other interest groups have the powers to design and implement strategies and instruments to combat poverty. The new Strategy will support these efforts and further encourage social partners and other interest groups, especially in those Member States with high and/or increasing levels of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion, to adopt targeted policies and support measures.

As underlined in the political guidelines, the Strategy will aim at helping people to obtain access to the essential protections and services they need, and at addressing the root causes of poverty.

In this context, the Commission requested an exploratory opinion on the proposed initiative of an EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, looking for advice and ideas from the EESC on the following aspects:

• What initiatives could be taken by social partners and other interest groups to better adapt policy frameworks to combat poverty, and

• How can social partners and other interest groups effectively address the root causes of poverty to decisively decrease poverty levels and set them on a downward trend.