European Anti Poverty Network Ireland » EAPN Europe Publications

EAPN Ireland Policy Briefing: 2020 Strategy & Targets

mbyrne — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:17:33 +0000

In June of this year, the European Council (i.e. the combined heads of state) agreed on Europe 2020 – A European Strategy for Smart Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. This 10 year Strategy replaces the Lisbon Strategy (commonly referred to as the Lisbon Agenda), which ran from 2000-2010. Employment continues to be a central concern of this new strategy. Financial stability and the importance of Member States reducing their budget deficits is a further concern arising from the economic crisis. Poverty and social inclusion is another priority area, although EAPN Ireland has considerable concern in the context of how that priority will be developed and implemented. This Update outlines the main developments within the strategy.

Download our policy briefing

EAPN Publishes Proposals for Platform Against Poverty

mbyrne — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:34:05 +0000

The Europe 2020 Strategy includes, as one of its 5 key targets, a target to reduce poverty by 20 million people, to be delivered through a flagship initiative: the ‘European Platform against Poverty’.

EAPN’s key proposals for this flagship are:

Transform the Social OMC into dynamic EU and National Platforms against Poverty.
Develop mechanisms to assess the effectiveness of current instruments and move forward on establishing European frameworks to guarantee EU social standards.
Mobilize EU financial instruments to support the development of social and sustainable service infrastructure, demonstration projects and better participation and governance promoting civil dialogue.
Ensure that Social Inclusion objectives are mainstreamed across Europe 2020, linked to effective Social Impact assessment.

Download Publication

EAPN Ireland Publishes Report from Building Social Europe Conference

mbyrne — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 09:06:40 +0000

The European Anti Poverty Network (EAPN) organised an international conference in Dublin to further its vision for the legacy of the 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion, in the context of the EU’s priorities for the next decade. The objective of this conference was to present concrete proposals for building a social Europe with the capacity to end poverty and social exclusion, and make a real difference to the 85 million Europeans who live everyday at risk of poverty.

The conference set out to:

1. Take stock of the European Union’s contribution to ending poverty and social exclusion.
2. Take forward EAPN’s proposals for improving the social dimension of the EU 2020 strategy.
3. Provide an opportunity for a range of stakeholders, including people experiencing poverty,
to input on how the legacy of the Year should be realised.

You can download the conference report here. Please note that the report is an interactive pdf, the links are ‘live’ and the navigation bar on the right panel will assist you in accessing particular sections.

Briefing for Oireachtas Members on Poverty 25% Reduction Target

mbyrne — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 11:27:46 +0000

On the 3rd March 2010 the European Commission proposed an EU target to reduce poverty by 25% by 2020. The target was one of five headline targets set out in the new Europe 2020 strategy for ‘smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’. The inclusion of that target is now in doubt. EAPN Ireland is lobbying Oireachtas members and decision makers to ensure that Ireland puts forward a robust defence of the target. The Irish Government has yet to take a position on the target. EAPN Ireland will be meeting with Government representatives and opposition spokespeople in the coming weeks.

Download Briefing for Oireachtas Members