Decent pay and child poverty at the heart of the Fight against Poverty in Europe
The Meeting for European Ministers for Combating Poverty was held this Tuesday, October 19th in Brussels, as part of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Organised as an extension of the 9th Round Table on Poverty and Social Exclusion, this informal meeting of ministers raised and debated topics related to child poverty, the implementation of the Active Inclusion Recommendation in the field and the implementation of the European Platform against Poverty.
-The Belgian Presidency worked to lead the way for the adoption by the Commission of a Recommendation for the Fight against Child Poverty and the Promotion of Well-being.
In order to meet the poverty reduction objective (20 million fewer people living in poverty by 2020) of the EU2020 Strategy, the Belgian Presidency requested that Member States define clear and quantified sub-goals to reduce child poverty and include the fight against child poverty in the priorities of the European Platform against Poverty.
Secretary of State Philippe Courard made the point that 20 million young Europeans are threatened with poverty and that special attention must be paid to these young people by encouraging their participation in the decisional processes that impact their lives and livelihoods.
- The Commission launched the Recommendation on Active Inclusion for persons excluded from the labour market in 2008. This process of integration into the labour market is based on three pillars: adequate minimum income, inclusive labour markets, and access to quality services for all.
While significant progress has been made in terms of access to inclusive labour markets, the adequate minimum income and access to quality services pillars require further development.
During the informal Council of this Tuesday, October 19th, the Member States agreed to increase cross-apprenticeship and intensify exchanges of experiences and good practices in the area of adequate minimum income. Concretely, this vision implies strengthening exchanges and the matching of adequate minimum income with shared criteria.
In order to respect subsidiarity, the process of strengthening cross-apprenticeship will include the issues of coverage, the under-utilisation of aid systems for certain groups of people and coordination with the other two aspects of active inclusion: inclusive labour markets and access to quality services. This process could be implemented within the Social Protection Committee.
In order to stimulate debate on adequate minimum income, the Belgian Presidency will hold a Peer Review on standard budgets next November 26th. The results of this Peer Review will be provided to all Member States in order to initiate debate and maintain discussion with all of the actors concerned.
- In its communication entitled “UE 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth”, the Commission announced a flagship initiative to create a “European Platform against Poverty”.
The Presidency would like Member States to have a multi-dimensional approach to poverty, including prevention and participation by all partners including people living in poverty, social partners, European, national and regional parliaments, regional and local authorities, associations and NGOs.
The Belgian Presidency will update the EPSCO Council (Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumers) on the conclusions of this 9th round table on poverty and exclusion and on the ministerial meeting on Thursday, October 21st.
The Belgian Presidency would also like these conclusions to appear in the Final Declaration on 2010 - European Year for Combating Poverty, of next December 17th.
For more information contact
Pierre-Jean Burrion, spokesperson for Secretary of State Philippe Courard
0478 844 708
