Sven Matzke European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

20 March 2012 EUROPA 2020 – Flagship initiative

“The European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion”

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Europe 2020: 5 EU targets

By 2020: • 75 % employment rate (% of population aged 20-64

years)• 3% investment in R&D (% of EU’s GDP)• “20/20/20” climate/energy targets met (incl. 30%

emissions reduction if conditions are right)• < 10% early school leavers & min. 40% hold tertiary

degree• 20 million less people should be at risk of povertySupported by 7 Flagship Initiatives

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Europe 2020: 7 flagship initiatives to make Long term-targets more operational

Smart GrowthSmart Growth Sustainable Sustainable GrowthGrowth

Inclusive GrowthInclusive Growth

Innovation« Innovation Union »

Climate, energy and mobility

« Resource efficient Europe »

Employment and skills

« An agenda for new skills and jobs”

Education« Youth on the 

move »

Competitiveness« An industrial policy for the 

globalisation era »

Fighting poverty« European platform against poverty »

Digital society« A digital agenda 

for Europe »

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Why a target on poverty in Europe 2020?

• 1 in 6 Europeans is at risk of poverty

• Most vulnerable hit hardest by the crisis:

young adults, single parents, Roma, migrants

• Poverty and social exclusion already

major concern in Europe beforehand

• European citizens are concerned about

the social dimension of Europe.

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Challenges and priorities of the flagship on poverty

• Multiple dimensions of poverty action across the whole policy spectrum

• Address needs of groups particularly at risk, tackle severe exclusion and new vulnerabilities

• Break the cycle of disadvantage and step up prevention efforts

• Do better and more efficiently in times of budget constraints

• Strong focus on prevention, innovation, going beyond “traditional” social inclusion policies and making best use of EU funds

A framework for action, building on 10 years of cooperation and finding new, participative approaches

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People at risk of poverty or social exclusion (2009)

Source: EU-SILC (2009)

Low work intensity: 34 mio

At risk of poverty or social exclusion: 114 mio

At risk of poverty: 80 mio

Severe material deprivation: 40 mio

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80 million at risk of poverty: 1 in 6 Europeans

At-risk-of-poverty rate: total, by age and by employment status; EU-27

The risk of poverty threshold is set at 60 % of the national median equivalised disposable income (after social transfers).

Source: Eurostat (November 2011)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

%

All Children (less than 18 years) Elderly (65+) Employed Unemployed

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40 million face severe material deprivation

Source: Eurostat 2009

Severely materially deprived persons; Percentage of total population, 2009

People are considered « severely materially deprived" if they experience at least 4 out of 9 deprivations: people cannot afford i) to pay their rent or utility bills, ii) keep their home adequately warm, iii) face unexpected expenses, iv) eat meat, fish, or a protein equivalent every second day, v) a week of holiday away from home once a year, vi) a car, vii) a washing machine, viii) a colour tv, or ix) a telephone.

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34 million live in jobless households

Source: Eurostat

Persons living in households with very low work intensity, 2009

People aged 0-59 living in households where adults work less than 20% of their total work potential during the past year.

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• Continued work within Europe 2020:

Assessment progress at EU level in the Annual Growth Survey 2012

MS monitoring and Country-specific Recommendations in June 2012

Benchmarking, awareness raising, policy innovation and experimentation

Implementation reviewed in 2014

What is the Commission doing?

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First European Semester 2012:

Additional efforts are required for reaching the targets in the area of employment and poverty:

– EU GDP growth for 2012 remains modest (+0.6%);

– Unemployment >9%, staying high in 2012;

– Fiscal consolidation affecting social expenditure

– Low progress on the poverty reduction targets (12 million by 2020)

– The trends highlight a growing risk of poverty and marginalisation unless active measures are taken to counter them

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Five areas for action

1. Delivering action across the policy spectrum

2. Making EU funds deliver on the social inclusion and social cohesion objectives

3. Developing an evidence-based approach to social innovation and reforms

4. Promoting a partnership approach and the social economy

5. Stepping up policy coordination between the Member States

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Example of concrete actions (1)

• Enhancing access to employment and active inclusion of vulnerable groups: – Communication on active inclusion, 2012

• Making social protection and services more responsive to new social needs: – White paper on Pensions, 2011– Further develop quality framework on social services (sectoral

approach on homelessness)– Follow-up to communication on health inequalities

• Breaking the cycle of disadvantage:– Recommendation on early school leaving, 2011– Recommendation on child poverty, 2012

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Example of concrete actions (2)

• Strengthening existing partnerships and involving new actors (social partners, regional/local authorities, NGOs…):– Voluntary guidelines on stakeholders’ involvement

and participation of people experiencing poverty– Regular dialogue on thematic priorities

• Harnessing the potential of the social economy:– Improving legal structures (e.g. foundations)– Social Business Initiative (2011) to support socially

innovative corporate projects (Single Market Act)

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Europe 2020 strategyhttp://ec.europa.eu/eu2020

European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=961&langId=en

Social Europehttp://www.facebook.com/#!/socialeurope

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Thank you for your attention